Blurred Lines
by NewHampshireGirl
Summary: The team find themselves suddenly living out the deadly plot of Tim's new book. Tony/OC, Tim/Delilah; team as family. Post "Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice"
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers:** I do not own NCIS or its characters. **  
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 **Warnings:** Tony/Leah (OC), Tim/Delilah, angst, mild violence **  
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 **A/N:** This is the revamp of "Hanging From Words". I've changed a lot in this one from the original, hence the new title. Hope you enjoy and thank you for taking the time to read and leave feedback :) **  
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* * *

**Blurred Lines**

Throughout the neighborhood the constant hum of lawn mowers could be heard, as well as the drum of compressors as air conditioners worked over time.

Fiery red rays from the setting sun shot through the trees and around the historical homes on the quiet street and on the front lawn of one of these homes two children, in neon colored bathing suits, laughed and screeched as they ran in and out of the spray from their father's garden hose.

Anthony DiNozzo had gone out to water his wife's flower beds, but somehow that turned into Tali and Jack dashing through the cold water spray. Even though the two kids had spent most of their day in the pool with their nanny, they were not tired of the water. He may have given the flowers a little more than they needed in order to soak the kids just to hear their giggles.

"Time to go in, munchkins," Tony said, shutting the water off. He chuckled at the disappointed looks on their faces. "We should go check on Mama, make sure she's taken care of."

"Mama didn't swim was us," Tali said, taking her brother by the hand and following her father to the back deck. "She laid on the couch all day."

"Dada, is Mama sick?" Jack asked, his blue eyes concerned.

Tony found their towels hanging in the sun off the back deck and began to dry them off. "No, Mama isn't sick—the baby is going to be arriving any day now and the doctor just wants Mama to rest as much as she can."

Tali smiled, proudly, at Tony. "I made her lunch today. Peanut butter and fluff sandwiches with a big glass of milk. She said it helped her finish her work today, Abba."

He was constantly amazed by the amount of love his little girl had. She was smart and full of energy. Tony kissed her cheeks. He still hated the circumstances of how she came into his life, but he was grateful that she did. "Let's go in and see if we can make Mama some dinner, okay?"

"Okay," Tali replied, opening the French doors that led off the back deck and into the living room.

"Are my water babies calling it a day?" Leah said from the sofa with a grin.

Jack dashed to his mother and hugged her belly, his little arms barely able to fit around it. He kissed Leah's stomach. "Hi baby, Dada says you come out soon!"

Leah chuckled and ran her fingers through her son's hair. " _Hopefully_ soon."

Tony closed the doors, shutting out the hot, humid air. "At least you listened to the doctor. I was waiting for Amelia to call me and tell me that you weren't taking it easy in this heat."

"I promise, I have been sitting in this nice, air conditioned room all day," Leah said, smiling sweetly at her husband. "Stop being so overprotective."

"I'm being overprotective because I want both you and the baby to stay healthy," Tony replied, seriously. _I don't want to lose either one of you,_ he thought, anxiously. "And because I love you, both."

"Abba, you told us that Mama wasn't sick," Tali gasped, her green eyes fearfully shifting between her father and stepmother. "Is she sick? Is the baby sick? Do they need to go to the hospital?"

Leah glared at Tony. "See what you started," she snapped at him. She then gestured for Tali to come to her and hugged the little girl. "I am not sick, and the baby is not sick. Abba just wants to make sure it stays that way, okay?"

Tali nodded her head, damp curls falling in her eyes. She buried her face against Leah's shoulder. Her latest fear was the death of Tony or Leah now that she was older and understood what happened to her mother. "I love you, Mama," she whispered, clinging tightly to her stepmother.

She smiled and kissed the little girl's curls. "I love you too," Leah said.

Tony managed to unlatch the two kids from their mother and direct them towards the tub. He gave his wife a sweet kiss and followed the children up the stairs. "When we get back, we're making you dinner."

"I called for pizza," Leah said, waving her cell phone. "It's too hot to cook; should be here in about an hour."

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Tony asked, rhetorically, as he grinned from ear to ear.

"Not since this morning," she teased back.

"In that case—I love you so much," he said, before dashing up the stairs after the kids.

Tali had taken the bath toys out of the closet and thrown every single one of them in the empty tub. Jack had already striped off his swim trunks and pull-up, and stood buck-naked in the middle of the bathroom, pleased as punch.

Tony shook his head, laughing silently and started the water up, setting it to the perfect temperature for the kids. "How are you and your brother going to fit in here with all the toys?"

She looked into the tub at the water filling it and the toys floating around. "There's lots of room, Abba."

He wasn't going to argue with her and shut the water off. Gently he picked up Jack and put the little boy into the tub, between all the toys. Tali wiggled her way in next. There wasn't a lot of room, but the two kids still fit despite the massive amounts of boats and mermaids and rubber duckies.

While the two kids played, conjuring up some story about how the rubber duckies had to use the boats to save the mermaids from a sea witch—Tony washed them with _Baby Magic._ By the time he was done the mermaids were safe and the rubber duckies had been turned into super heroes because Jack refused to turn his rubber duckies into princes.

"Okay, munchkins," Tony said, happily. "Bath time is over."

"Aw, we want to play more, Abba."

"Mama ordered pizza for dinner. Should be here soon."

This got the two kids moving out of the bath tub. Tony dried them with their favorite towels and then dressed them in their favorite pajamas. By the time they made it back downstairs the pizza had arrived and Leah was setting the kitchen table.

Tali climbed onto the bench and slid around to the back. She had just grown tall enough that she could sit at the breakfast nook in a booster seat. Jack still hadn't quite reached the height of the table, but he was closing in on his sister day by day. He sat at the end of the table in his high chair, next to Leah's side of the table.

Leah made sure that the kids' pizza was cut up into bite sized pieces and Tony gave them each a sippy cup with milk. It was the first time in days that the entire family had been able to sit down and have dinner together. Tony had been working late hours and Leah had been spending more and more time at the University preparing the professor teaching her summer courses. Now that the semester was over and Leah had passed in her final grades, the young mother had been primarily on the sofa, nesting, as Delilah McGee liked to joke.

Tony smiled and watched as his kids happily ate their pizza. Sometimes Jack would close his eyes in delight and coo, _mmmmm._ There was a bit of a debate between father and son on who loved pizza more…

A shrill cell phone interrupted the family's dinner. Tony groaned, knowing that it was NCIS. He stood up, planted kisses on both children's heads and then kissed Leah. "Well," he said as he grabbed his gear before answering the phone, "at least I was home long enough to give them a bath."

* * *

Thunder was rolling in the distance when Tony and Tim pulled up to the crime scene. After Tony had picked Tim up at home, they had headed out of the city to an abandoned barn, where two boys playing had unearthed dog tags, and a skull.

"So much for a quiet dinner and evening at home with the family," Tony muttered under his breath as the pair walked.

"You have a three-year-old daughter, twenty-one-month old son that can be a holy terror… and a very pregnant wife—is it ever quiet at your house?" Tim asked, honestly.

Tony chuckled and pulled his ball cap down over his brown hair. "No. Not really. But since the doctor pretty much put Leah on bed rest, Amelia has been keeping the kids busy—especially Jack. However, I'm convinced that Jack is better behaved for the nanny than he is for me or Leah."

Tim had to laugh. Jack was very much like his father, a charmer, a trouble-maker… and no one loved that little boy more than Tony. "Of course he is… he saves his best stuff for you."

"Hey, Ellie," Tony greeted the newest member of their team. "What have we got?"

"Dog tags and a skull," Ellie Bishop said with a slight shrug. "That's all I can tell you because that's all we've got."

"So the skull might not even be from a military person?"

"No way of knowing until we run the service number on the dog tags and try to identify the skull."

Tony ran his hands over his face, feeling the sweat from the unbearable humidity forming. "Great… just what I want to be doing in this weather… running around looking for more body parts."

Ellie frowned. "You don't really think Gibbs will make us start digging do you? We were out in this heat all day looking for that Petty Officer."

"He will," Gibbs announced, appearing behind Tony's right shoulder, and dropping some shovels at their feet. "Start digging."

Tony inwardly groaned, and picked up a shovel. It was going to be a long night, he could already tell even before they started working. As they began to work, spreading out around the site, Tony felt like this was eerily familiar. He just couldn't put a finger on it. Until across the yard, Tim mentioned something about his book. "Wait… that's right! Weren't bones with dog tags found in a barn in your book?"

Ellie shifted through some silt. "No. It was an old gas station, hadn't been in use since the 1960s." She stood up when she didn't find anything and began to move onto another spot. "And those bones were pretty old. Ducky thinks our skull is less than a year."

Still, Tony couldn't shake the similarities. "Still… come on… you have to admit that's… weird."

"Sure. I can admit that."

"Hey, McGee…since you seem to have written this… can you tell us how it ends?"

"Tibbs and the team find the killer and arrest him."

"So you can't tell us who the killer is?"

"This isn't like my book, Tony."

Tony scoffed and shook his head while he kept digging. "Yeah… like I haven't heard _that_ before." He had a bad feeling about this case—a very bad feeling.

* * *

Hours after the team had left the barn she made it back to check her cameras.

Everyone had a role to play and they played it well. Nothing was left unturned and the team looked a little flustered before they packed up their things to go but no other bones were found. She hadn't left any for them to find. She didn't want it easy for them because she liked to watch them work. It was a beautiful sight. And by watching them work… when she finally got to talk to them… she could impress them with how much she knew.

He would certainly like that. He liked smart women. It was why he had been attracted to the woman he'd eventually ended up marrying. He just didn't know yet that they were meant to be together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** I apologize for the delay, it was a very busy week and by the time I got home at night I just didn't have the energy to work on my writing. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

On their way back to NCIS from the crime scene, Tony's cell phone rang. Leah was convinced she was going into labor.

He was almost grateful that he was about to spend hours at the hospital waiting for his daughter to be born. It meant that Tony wouldn't be buried in work trying to solve this case. However, when he made it home and found Leah on the sofa, she looked at him, sheepishly.

She rested her hands on her belly and smiled at him, coyly. "False alarm."

Tony groaned. "Are you kidding me? I did about eighty to get here."

Leah chewed on her lower lip. "Turns out they were really just gas pains."

"Great… Leah…I'm in the middle of a case..."

"I made you some coffee…"

Tony sighed and leaned down to kiss his wife. He was going to need that coffee. Gibbs was going to be working them late into the night, perhaps even keeping them until morning. "Go get some sleep," he gently ordered her.

Leah smiled, sleepily, and promised that she would. He helped her to her feet, noticing that she was wearing one of his beat-up tee shirts, and then gently directed her to the stairs. "I can get up the stairs by myself, Tony. You should probably get going back to NCIS."

He took her hand and pulled her as close as he could, her belly squished between them. Gently, he pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. "I love you, bella."

She caressed his cheek, feeling the stubble underneath her fingers, and smiled. "I love you more."

"Nah, I highly doubt that," Tony teased her, kissing her again.

"I'm sorry I pulled you away from the case," Leah said, softly.

Tony shook his head and smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart."

Leah refused to let go of his hand, concerning him slightly. "Can you stay? At least until I fall asleep?"

He was definitely concerned now. "What's wrong, love?"

She shook her head, trying to dismiss some thought she was having. "It's nothing."

"Hey, don't lie to me. What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I've felt… like… someone's been watching me all day."

"From the sofa?"

Leah looked away and shook her head again. "It's silly. I know."

Tony was never one to dismiss the feeling of being watched. Sometimes it was the only clue that something was about to go done, a warning of sorts. "No, it's not silly. Tell me about it."

She gazed at him, biting on her lower lip anxiously. "A few times during the day it felt like someone was watching me through the window, but when I got up to go check it out, no one was there."

He felt his heart thunder in his chest as a startled feeling crept through his body. "Which window?"

"On the side of the house, facing the woods."

"Would you feel better if I stayed with you for a while?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I don't have to leave just yet."

Leah felt the tension she had been feeling most of the day leave her body. She wasn't sure why she had been feeling that she was being watched… this was a safe neighborhood… maybe it was the pre-birth jitters she was experiencing the closer they got to her due date.

Tony helped her up the stairs and into bed, making sure that he slid a pillow between her legs as she curled up on her side. Gently, he laid down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. His fingers brushed across her stomach and he felt the baby moving.

It didn't take his wife long to fall asleep in his arms and he got up, kissing her cheek before he left the room.

Once outside the house, armed with his phone as a flashlight, Tony went over to the side of the house and inspected the area, looking for signs that someone had been there. His gut was telling him that Leah wasn't making this up, that someone had been watching her and possibly the kids swimming in the back yard.

Sure enough, by the old oak tree, snapped sticks and footprints, surrounded the massive trunk. His wife hadn't been making things up—someone had been watching her and Tony was going to find out who and why.

* * *

Tony rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension in his muscles. The conversation with Leah just a few hours before was still haunting him; it was late and he was tired. Gibbs was going to keep them until this was solved, even if Tony had a little mystery of his own at home.

He didn't want to scare his wife, so he'd decided to keep the information of finding the evidence that someone had been standing in their woods, watching the house, to himself. Tony was certain that his family was safe inside the house…

"I thought you went home to take Leah to the hospital?" Tim asked when he found the senior field agent in the bullpen.

"False alarm," Tony replied, quietly, still rolling his shoulders. "Apparently... it really was gas pains and nothing to worry about."

"Well, you didn't miss much," Tim said, "Dog tags were from a soldier that died in 1968... Ducky is waiting for his dental records to match the skull."

Tony stopped rolling his shoulders and glared at his partner. "Great... so we have nothing."

Ellie appeared then, no bounce in her step, and with dark circles under her eyes. "Well, not nothing... we have an almost fifty-year-old cold case."

"Oh goodie! Because I love those!" Tony exclaimed, sarcastically.

"DiNozzo, tone down the sarcasm," Gibbs grumbled, handing out coffee to his team.

"Sorry, boss. This pregnancy is going to kill me."

"Not if I don't kill you first."

Tony mumbled another apology and got back to work... except he had none. Why did Leah's call have to be a false alarm? At least if she was in labor he would be doing something. Nothing to do on this case meant they were just sitting around waiting for confirmation on their victim's identity. "Hey... if we already know that the owner of the dog tags is dead... there must be a death certificate, right?"

Tim's eyes widened for a second. "Tony's right, boss. I didn't even think of that. If our victim was missing... there would be no record of his death."

Gibbs shook his head. It didn't matter that they had missed it. His team had been worked hard over the last forty-eight hours. "We've been working around the clock, little sleep... we're bound to miss things but now that we know... let's fix it."

"I'll run a background check, boss," Tony offered. It would at least give him something to do.

"I wouldn't bother, Anthony," Ducky said entering the bullpen, dashing his hopes of having something to keep him awake and occupied. "Our skull and our dog tags are not from the same person."

"Well, if they aren't from the same person... whose skull is it?" Ellie asked.

Ducky sighed. "Damned if I know, Eleanor. Jethro, this crime scene seems rather... staged... if you ask me. I called the marine's family and they said that the dog tags were misplaced years ago but they live nowhere near the location that they were discovered at."

Tony felt like banging his head on his desk. "So, we've been doing all this work for nothing?"

Gibbs downed his coffee. "Not nothing, Tony... we need to find out why someone would stage a crime scene like that to get us to come out."

Tim looked at his partners, wearily. "That could be any number of reasons, boss."

"How do we even know it was staged? We don't know the identity of the skull," Ellie pointed out.

"Even though I said I didn't know the identity of our skull, Eleanor," Ducky replied, "I do know where it came from." All eyes were on him, suddenly. "It came from Monroe University... their medical department reported a theft of bones that are used for anatomy classes... I am having Abigail check... but I would place bets that our skull is made from synthetic material."

Tony shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I feel like I've seen this movie."

Ellie snapped her fingers. "Not a movie! A book! Tim's book!"

"Huh?" Tony and Tim questioned at the same time.

"Twila works at a medical lab... the killer steals the bones from the lab and buries them with the dog tags to throw the team off track," Ellie responded.

"I told you to stop writing books about us," Tony grumbled.

Tim decided that there was no point in arguing with Tony right now. His partner was beyond cranky at this point and, truthfully, Tim just didn't have the energy. "But in my book the killer did that to cover up his murders... we haven't found any bodies yet."

Tony rubbed his hands over his face and mumbled, "There's the key word—yet. I think it's clear that someone is living out your book."

"But not all the fine details," Ducky said. "Certain elements have been changed about the book. It was a gas station those bones were found at and the dog tags matched a murder victim."

"Murder victim was female too," Ellie interjected.

"Bishop... we don't have a murder victim," Tony threw out.

"Yet," Ellie said, quirking an eyebrow.

Gibbs let out a frustrated snarl. "Until we have an actual body... go home... get some rest. And Ducky... make sure the University knows we found one of their missing skulls."

Tony slowly gathered up his things. Getting the day off meant that he could sleep. Leah had to be at George Washington University all day and Jack and Tali would be at daycare... _Instead of sleeping_ _you could get caught up on McGee's book_... All the coincidences were really starting to add up... making it a little unnerving. "Damn... I'm not getting any sleep," the senior field agent mumbled getting into the elevator.

"Yeah, neither am I," Tim chimed in. "The answer to this has to be in my book. I better start looking over my notes."

"Coincidences bothering you too?"

"Uh-huh."

Tony pursed his lips. "Meet in three hours to compare notes?"

Tim sighed, tiredly. "Sure. Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Delilah had gone into work early like she usually did when Tim was at the office all night. She was preparing to make another trip to Dubai in a few weeks and she had a lot of paperwork to complete before doing so. It was going to be her last trip for a long time with the baby coming.

Even though she wasn't the one carrying their child, they had a lot of preparations to make before the baby was born. It had also been a struggle to get to this point. Especially when they realized it was not going to be as easy to have a baby as it was for their friends.

She had been disappointed when the doctor informed them that it would be too dangerous for her to carry a baby. It was hard to watch Leah experience pregnancy like she always imagined it would be. Although... seeing how uncomfortable Leah was during this heat wave... there was a small part of her that was glad she wouldn't be carrying her baby.

"Hey, Delilah," the night security guard said, popping in her office before leaving for the night. "Some lady was trying to get into the building last night to drop something off in your office."

"Did she leave it with you?" Delilah asked.

The security guard shook his head. "No. She got very agitated that we wouldn't let her in and left. Just thought it was weird and that you should know."

She was intrigued by this and asked for the time the incident had happened so she could go back and watch footage to see if she knew the woman. "Thanks for letting me know... I'm sure it was nothing."

"Oh, one another thing... she kept saying that you were an imposter... that she was the real Twila McGregor," the guard told her, dropping the anvil into the room. "I figured she was drunk... she sure was acting like it."

"Wait? She said her name was Twila McGregor?"

"Yeah? Do you know her?"

Delilah felt her stomach give an unpleasant lurch. Something odd was happening here and she though back to the woman who had sent that bottle of wine over the night before at dinner. Could the two be linked? "Yeah," she finally said, swallowing the bile in her throat, "she's a fictional character in my husband's book."


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the long delay! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

On the way home that morning, Ton received a phone call from Leah. Amelia was not able to come over and watch the kids and his wife needed a chair pad for the lounge chair on the pool deck so she could watch Tali and Jack in the pool comfortably. And a float, so she could get into the pool with the kids when she got hot...

As exhausted as he was, Tony knew if he didn't show up at the house with those items he'd be dealing with a very cranky, very pregnant wife. At least on the way home from the local Target there was a coffee shop that he had discovered and frequented quite often once they had moved to Arlington.

Parking his car, Tony shut it down and climbed out. Immediately the heat hit him and he frowned. He should have picked up from Gatorade for his wife to make sure she stayed hydrated while spending the day outside by the pool with Tali and Jack.

He was glancing at his watch when he headed into the coffee shop, completely unaware that a woman had stepped into his path until Tony crashed into the tall woman, who was wearing grungy clothes and the federal agent cursed. He apologized, profusely, helped her to her feet and went on his way, unaware that she slipped into a booth behind a large, fake fern, to watch him.

"Large hazelnut coffee, cream, extra sugar," Tony ordered, digging out his wallet.

"Rough morning, sir?" the barista questioned, punching his order into the register.

"You have no idea," Tony mumbled. _A killer on the loose, pregnant wife at home, someone creeping around my house… yeah… rough morning._

"Hope it gets better from here on out," the barista said as he cashed Tony out.

Tony grunted, thanked him for the coffee, and headed back outside. He unlocked his car and climbed in, slamming the door shut. He immediately started it up and put the AC on full blast. Taking a few sips of his coffee, he happened to glance in the side view mirror and notice the women he had crashed into leaving the coffee shop behind him.

She looked around, as if she was looking for someone, and then started off down the lot to a parked, old Toyota Corolla. Tony watched as she got into the car and sped away, windows down, and long hair blowing in the wind. Instantly his gut began to stir, like it had last night when he found the evidence that someone had been snooping around his property… and then the Bluetooth chirped, _Incoming call from Leah…_

"Hey, I'm on my way," Tony said, putting his coffee into the cup holder. "Should be home in five minutes."

" _Okay, but the Arlington Police called,"_ Leah said, sounding shaky. " _They said a prowler was reported in the neighborhood, a woman…"_

 _Damn it, so much for keeping it a secret,_ Tony thought as he drove towards home. "I'm sure it was nothing, love. Did the police sound concerned?"

" _No. They just wanted to let everyone in the neighborhood know and to be on the lookout."_

"See. Nothing. Take some deep breaths and go outside and enjoy the pool with the kids."

Leah sighed and agreed, but not before asking Tony to stop by the bakery and pick up some cupcakes. He closed his eyes, briefly, since he was driving after all, and turned the car around. At this rate he was never going to get to read McGee's book.

* * *

By the time Tony got home with the cupcakes, his coffee was cold, and he only had an hour to read Tim's book before he met up with his partner to discuss what he'd observed.

Tony checked on his wife and kids, who were outside enjoying the pool. He then settled into the den to read, however, due to his exhaustion, it didn't take him long to fall asleep while reading. His cell phone was ringing, waking him, and Tony realized he had fallen asleep on the sofa.

Blinking open heavy eyes, he glanced at the clock on the cable box and grimaced. He had promised to meet Tim three hours ago, he had fallen asleep on the sofa, in the nice cool AC for nearly four hours. _Damn._ Fumbling about, Tony grabbed his phone off the coffee table and answered, "DiNozzo."

" _Where are you?"_ Ellie's voice asked, concerned over the line. " _Tim and I have been trying to reach you for the last three hours."_

"Fell asleep," Tony confessed, sitting up and trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Why? What's going on?"

Ellie began to nervously chatter on the line. Tony normally could keep up with her, but his brain was in no way shape or form awake enough to follow one of her rants. "Ellie!" he finally snapped, stopping her. "Slow down!"

She took a deep breath and started over, " _Delilah stopped by. She said a woman tried to get into her office last night."_

"And?"

" _The woman claimed she was Twila McGregor."_

Tony was wide-awake now. Twila McGregor was the fictional wife of Agent McGregor, in the current book Tony had at least gotten to the point of the story where the killer was stalking the fictional Mrs. McGee... _Oh, this is bad, this is very, very bad,_ he thought as he pulled himself from the sofa, grabbing the keys for his car. "I'm on my way in. Tell Gibbs I'm bringing coffee."

Quickly he hung up. The coincidences in this case were starting to add up to something much darker than any of them were anticipating and Tony had the incredible urge to get his family back inside the house.

Leah was seated underneath the patio umbrella while Tali and Jack splashed around in their kiddie pool. Tony didn't want to frighten her and needed to come up with a way to get her into the house that didn't draw suspicion from his wife.

"Hi, you're still here?" Leah questioned with a smile when she noticed him.

"Not for long. I need to go back to NCIS," Tony replied. "It's getting really hot out here. You and the kids should probably spend the rest of the day inside."

Leah quirked an eyebrow. "That sounds more like an order and not a suggestion."

Tony licked his lips, testing the salty bead of sweat forming on his upper lip. "Just think you need to be inside, that's all."

She decided that she wasn't going to argue. Tali and Jack whined when they were told it was time to go inside, but Leah was firm. "It's hot. We can go dry off and change and watch a movie in the air conditioning."

They still were not happy but they listened, parading back into the house. Tony held back, eyes sweeping their back yard. Nothing seemed out of place, but the agent inside of him knew that meant nothing.

* * *

Grainy, security footage played on the plasma screen when Tony arrived at NCIS, a tray of the promised coffee in his hands. He put the tray down onto his desk and watched as the guards held back an obviously out of control woman. Under any other circumstances he would say that this woman was just a crazy drunk… but given what he knew now… Tony's gut was churning rather uncomfortably. "Do you think Abby can clean that up?"

Gibbs frowned and reached for a coffee. It was the first thing he had requested when the footage had been sent to him. Looking at the SFA, he softened his frown. _What's it gonna take Tony to show you you're ready to fly the_ _nest?_ he thought, solemnly. "She's working on it. Does that woman look familiar to you?"

Tony watched the screen again, as Ellie zoomed in on her face. Something fluttered in his stomach, a sense of familiarity. "It could be… it could be this woman I bumped into this morning, at the coffee shop."

"Notice anything out of the ordinary?"

"She was wearing grungy clothes… but it happened so fast… sorry boss. I wasn't on my game I guess."

Gibbs sighed and gave his head a little shake. "Just bring your game _now._ Did you go home and read Tim's book?"

Tony nodded. "Got a quarter of the way through it, but then fell asleep."

"Learn anything?"

"The killer was stalking Mrs. McGregor; I didn't get to the reason why yet. Where's Tim?"

Ellie glanced at Tim's empty desk, leaning forward on her elbows. "He went to try and convince Delilah to have a protection detail follow her around. She doesn't think she needs one. She needs more proof that this woman is living out McGee's book before that happens."

Tony shivered, involuntarily. This whole case was starting to give him the creeps. "What more does she want? In the book the killer showed up at Twilia's work place and demanded entrance. The same thing happened here. Isn't it obvious that this woman thinks _she's_ the stalker?"

"You are most definitely right, Anthony," Ducky announced, joining them. "But I think we have a much bigger problem here."

"Explain, Ducky," Gibbs ordered, softly.

Ducky held up some videotapes in evidence bags. "Local police called earlier today and said they had found these at the crime scene. The team was out of the building at the time so I took them to analyze. Jethro, these tapes show the team investigating that barn. This woman more than likely has been stalking all of you… to find a loophole or weakness… a way to get to Timothy."

Tony felt his shoulders go rigid. "Watching all of us?" he repeated, fear gripping him. _I should have followed up on the prowler;_ _I knew that Leah, Tali, Jack, and the baby weren't safe._ Blood suddenly rushing to his ears, thundering in them, Tony pulled his cell out and started to dial his wife…

"Hey, Tony," Gibbs said, reaching out and snatching the phone away. "Talk to me."

"Arlington police confirmed a prowler in our neighborhood," Tony confessed, "I found evidence she had been standing outside in our woods."

"She?" Ducky quipped before continuing, "Oh dear, our suspect must think Leah is character in the book."

Ellie nodded in agreement. "But what character? The only one pregnant in the book is the McGregor's surrogate. Leah doesn't fit the description of a young, looking for money college student."

Ducky sighed and glanced at Tony. "No, but she is the closet thing in reality that does fit the character in the book."

Tony felt the room start to spin. It made sense; Tim and Delilah's surrogate was barely showing she was pregnant. In the book, the surrogate was close to giving birth. "Boss…"

Gibbs seemed to understand his distress. He gave the senior field agent his phone back. "Until we know more… let Leah go about her day, alright? I don't want to scare her unnecessarily, not when she's nine months pregnant."

Suddenly, it was all unraveling. Criminals with vendettas Tony could handle, knew what do to keep his wife and kids safe, but this… a deranged woman, who they did not know the true identity of? How the hell was he supposed to keep his family safe from that? "Ducky… if this woman thinks that Leah is the surrogate how far will she go to get what she wants?"

Ducky's brow furrowed. "Having so little to go on… I can only surmise that she'll go as far as it takes to get what she wants."

"Which is what, exactly?" Tony sputtered.

"I suppose whatever the killer in the book was after."

"To make Tim notice her? Kill us all? The baby?"

"The killer thought she was the real Mrs. McGregor," Ellie said in a calm tone. "She wanted to get rid of the _imposter_ and claim the baby as her own."

"Great, so both Leah and Delilah are in danger," Tony said, his voice raising in agitation.

Gibbs snapped his fingers at Ellie, ordering her to get on the phone. "Check in with Tim and Delilah's real surrogate. Alert the Arlington police that this prowler may have ulterior motives."

Tony tried to take a deep breath, to calm himself, but failed. "Leah's parents are in town. I cannot put her under another protection detail; her father will be holding my gun to my head as I sign the divorce papers."

Ducky chuckled, uneasily. "As long as Leah stays at home, inside your house I do not see her to be in too much danger. This woman wants your baby. She will not hurt the woman currently incubating that child. The one that we need to worry about is refusing a protection detail."

Gibbs felt his nerves on edge and glanced at Ducky. This situation was out of their control and he hated not having control. "Ducky, how long do you think we have until this woman starts to get violent?"

"I think we are dangerously close to that stage, Jethro," Ducky sighed.

"Yeah," Gibbs whispered, downing his coffee, "that's what I was afraid of."


	4. Chapter 4

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the long delay. I have been under the weather and also very busy. Hope you enjoy! Please feel free to leave some feedback, I don't bite :)

* * *

Leah was aware that she was probably testing Tony's temper by leaving the house but her mother had called. Her parents were in town and her mother wanted to see her and the kids.

She knew that Tony was going to be mad later if he found out she left the safety of their house, but honestly, Leah felt that he was overreacting to a neighborhood prowler. She hadn't felt like she was being watched that morning and she had spent it outside with Tali and Jack.

Katherine Dawson could tell that her daughter was extremely uncomfortable in the heat. She poured her daughter a glass of ice water from the pitcher on their table, and smiled, "Look at it this way, sweetheart, you're in the final stretch."

Leah helped Tali into the booth and then put Jack in the high chair at the end of the table. With a sigh, Leah sat down. "I know. I haven't been the nicest person to Tony. He's been working late and I've been calling hime with all these requests."

"Oh, you aren't the first pregnant woman to snap at her husband," Katherine said, soothingly, rubbing her daughter's back. "Tony knows that your snapping has little to do with him."

"I've kind of rubbed off on him," Leah confessed, sipping her water.

"An extreme heat wave will do that to the best of men," Katherine countered. "Your father gets incredibly cranky when it gets hot."

Leah chuckled while she drank the ice-cold water, feeling relief from the heat for the first time that day. "Daddy better get used to it if he wants to run for office and have to move down here to Washington." She rested her hand on her ever-growing belly. Underneath her fingers she felt her daughter kick. Baby Girl DiNozzo had been active throughout most of the pregnancy but she had been extremely active in the last few days. Leah hoped that meant she was getting herself into position and getting ready to be brought into this world. She didn't know how much longer she could take…

Tali tapped her stepmother on her shoulder. "Mama, that lady is looking at me," she whispered.

"What lady?" Leah asked glancing up. "I don't see anyone, sweetie."

"Over there, the lady with brown hair," Tali said. "She looking at me."

"Honey, there are a lot of women with brown hair here," Katherine told her.

Leah kept looking over in the direction that Tali had pointed in, her stomach tightening. Tali had never commented on people looking at her in public places before, added to the fact that Leah could not find this woman that was looking at her stepdaughter, she felt chills running up her spine.

Tali kept insisting that the woman was looking at her, unnerving the usual easy going little girl. Leah was about to call their lunch with her mother short and take the kids back home, when the waitress came by with a basket of bread.

Katherine buttered two rolls—one for Jack and one for Tali—and a napkin fluttered out, landing in front of Leah. The younger woman could see that there was writing on the paper, like a note had been tucked into their basket. Curiosity got the best of her and she unfolded the napkin to read the note… instantly all color drained from her face…

"Leah, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Katherine inquired.

"I have to… I have to call Tony," Leah said, near panic stricken. She frantically searched for her cell phone, trying to get it out of her purse, dropping the note on the ground.

Katherine leaned down to pick it up, gasping when she read _I'm coming for my baby._

* * *

Panic quickly ensued once her note was delivered. She was able to use the flurry of activity that followed, thanks to sending the young professor into an anxiety attack, to escape, unnoticed.

Her mother and the wait staff were too busy trying to calm the young woman while they called for help. The little girl was crying for her _mama_ and the baby boy was whimpering. No one was looking for the person responsible for delivering the note that sent the young woman into a panic.

That stupid woman better not hurt her baby because of this, there would be hell to pay if anything happened to her baby... she had waited so long to have this family... went through so many failures at getting pregnant, and then seeing that ungrateful surrogate with two babies already... it was too much to bear.

Whatever. It wouldn't matter soon. Her baby would be here, in her arms, and she would have her happily ever after.

* * *

"Mrs. DiNozzo, please, just try to take deep breaths," the nurse in the ER said, rubbing her back,while situating an oxygen mask over Leah's nose. "Your baby can feel your distress you know, let's not frighten her okay?"

Leah tried to calm her nerves, she really did, but the moment she couldn't reach Tony she had gone into a full blown out panic attack. Her mother had immediately made the decision to call the EMT's and take her to the hospital. It was the memory of Wayne Cooper standing in her bedroom, gun drawn while Jack sobbed which was still fresh, which still hurt, that sent her into full panic mode and now someone else was threatening to come take her baby…

Katherine reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Leah, listen to the nurse, please," she instructed her daughter. "I reached your father. He was able to reach Tony. He's on his way. Should be here any moment now."

She closed her eyes, feeling the tension slowly starting to leave her body. Leah could hear the monitors tracking her heart slow, Tali whimpering, and Jack crying. The nurse told her that she was doing just fine, and to just keep breathing. Her eyes popped open when she caught a waft of familiar cologne against the sterile smell of the ER. Tony's concerned face entered her vision and she felt another onslaught of tears.

Tony took Katherine's place, grabbing a hold of his wife's hand and pushing her hair back out of her face. "Darling, relax, you and the baby are safe. Ellie took that note back to NCIS to process for prints. Okay? We're going to find out who did this, I promise."

"She's coming…she's coming for… for our baby!" Leah gasped, pulling the oxygen mask off her nose, tears welding in her eyes.

"No one is going to take our baby, Lee," Tony promised her, kissing her softly.

"Would you like to see your baby? Maybe that will help calm your nerves, Mrs. DiNozzo," the nurse offered getting an ultra sound machine ready.

Leah nodded, quickly, letting the nurse put the oxygen mask over her nose. She waited, as patiently as she could for the image of her baby on the screen. She didn't even care that the nurse had not warmed the jelly up before slathering it across her stomach… when her little girl appeared on screen, sucking her thumb, Leah felt her nerves ease.

The nurse smiled at her. "See, there's your baby. Have you picked a name out for her yet?"

Tony gave her hand a squeeze and then brought it to his lips, leaving a chaste kiss. "We haven't decided yet."

"Don't worry," the nurse said, finishing up the ultrasound, "it will come to you." She cleaned Leah's stomach off and gave the couple some privacy. It was then that Leah realized her mother had taken Tali and Jack out of the room.

His cell phone ringing interrupted the drone of the monitors. Tony pulled it out and glanced at it briefly, before looking at his wife. "It's Gibbs," he informed her, "Alright if I take this?"

She nodded, knowing that if he didn't answer there would be hell to pay later. Tony's hand slipped out of hers and he left the small room, answering his phone as he went. Leah went back to closing her eyes suddenly wanting a nap. She must have dozed off because the next time she opened her eyes, Tony was stroking her hair and coaxing her awake. The mask was gone and she was no longer hooked up to the heart monitor.

Tony smiled at her, gently. "Doctor says that you can go home."

Leah eased herself up into a sitting position with Tony's help. "How long did I sleep?"

"Few hours. We thought it was best if you got the sleep."

"The baby?"

"Baby is fine."

She looked down at her belly, her eyes filling with tears, which eventually spilled out and down her cheeks. Affectionately, she rubbed her belly. "I saw Wayne… with that gun… threatening Jack…"

He wiped at her tears. "Leah, it's alright now. I promise… no one is going to get their hands on our children. And if I don't stop it from happening, you better believe that Gibbs will. Or your dad… no one is going to hurt Tali, Jack or the baby… too many people to get through first."

Leah took a deep breath. "I know. It's just… this baby is supposed to be a new start for us."

Tony caressed her cheek. "And she will be, Leah. Nothing is going to change that."

"Are… are Tali and Jack okay?"

"They were scared, but your mother and I told them you were going to be fine."

"Where are they now?"

"Your mother took them back to the hotel for evening."

She sighed, tired, and shook her head. "My parents shouldn't have to baby-sit them; they're here to visit with friends, not take care of our kids."

He glared at her, slightly. "Leah, you spent the afternoon in the hospital. I'm going to take you home, help you get comfortable, and make sure you rest for the remainder of the day. That means the kids need to be taken care of by someone else—your parents were willing."

Leah was going to argue with him some more but Tony's cell phone rang. He kissed her forehead and left the room to answer. She flopped back against the pillows; at least she was going to be able to go home for the night and not have to stay in the hospital.

Tony came charging back into the room and gathered up her belongings. "Change of plans; you're going to the hotel with your parents, too."

"What? Why?" Leah asked, nervously watching him.

"Because, I'm needed back at NCIS," Tony said, helping to ease her off the bed.

"I promise, I'll take it easy at home," she argued with him.

"I'm not leaving you alone," he argued back, gently taking her by the arm and heading towards the front desk to sign her out. "You'll be better off at the hotel with your parents and the kids."

Warning bells were going off in her head. Leah became aware of his sudden tension, the urgency in his voice—something had happened that he didn't want her knowing about.

Tony kept his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the front desk, where he quickly signed his wife off, ushering her to his car.

Leah quietly got into the front seat and buckled up. "Will we see you tonight for dinner?"

He sighed and gave a sad shake of his head. "Probably not."

She glanced out the window. "Am I allowed to at least go home and get a change of clothes?"

"I'll have Amelia bring something by."

"Is there a reason you don't want me to go back to the house?"

Tony turned down the street towards the hotel. "The contractor called—they're going to be installing the bathroom fixtures today and tomorrow—just thought you'd like to be away from all the noise."

Leah wasn't sure she bought that theory. She knew that the new bathroom was being installed the following week; because of the humidity the paint was taking forever to dry. "I stay at home with two toddlers; I think I can handle the noise."

He sighed, heavily. "Please don't argue with me, Leah."

She threw him a glare. "Well, then give me a valid reason _why_ I can't return to my own house."

"Okay, how about you just suffered a panic attack while nine months pregnant?"

"Because some crazy person threatened to take my baby!"

"Do you want social services knocking on our door again?"

Leah's eyes filled with tears and Tony knew, even before the words had completely left his mouth, he had just delivered a low blow. She crossed her arms over her chest, leaned back in the chair and signaled that the argument was over.

Tony winced. If they were spending the evening at home that comment would have earned him a spot on the couch—maybe a spot on the couch for several days.


	5. Chapter 5

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** Once again I apologize for the long wait. Hope you enjoy the chapter! Feel free to let me know what you think :) Your feedback is always appreciated!

* * *

Bizarre cases were not something new to the team—even cases where a killer was obsessed with Tim's book was not new to the team—Tony had been waiting, knowing that it was only a matter of time before another deranged fan of McGee's showed up.

It was one of the reasons why he hated that Tim had used their likeness in the books. It only seemed to fuel the crazy readers out there that the characters looked like actual, real people, and the off-their-rocker fans rather enjoyed messing with the team. Like this one; another staged crime scene had popped up—and this time from chapter ten of the new book. While Gibbs and Ellie went to handle that, Tony and Tim were in charge of predicting the stalker's next move.

"I'm sorry, Tony," Tim sputtered when the SFA stepped off the elevator. "This is my fault! In my book the killer became obsessed with the McGregor's surrogate because she's obsessed with McGregor."

"Shut up, Tim," Tony snapped at him. "I don't want to hear a word about this being your fault. It's not; you can't predict how psychopaths are going to interpret your book. But, I swear to God, this better be the last book about _us._ "

Tim nervously shifted his weight between his feet. "Whoever this is, she's recreating the plot—the bones in abandoned places, trying to get into Delilah's office—stalking the surrogate. All that happened in the book. I don't know why the stalker has picked Leah. The surrogate in the book looks nothing like Leah."

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "It's fine Tim; Leah isn't aware that she's been caught up in this woman's sick fantasy. Our job right now is to stay a step ahead of her and we can do that because we have the mastermind behind this story. So what happens next Tim?"

His eyes went wide, Tim swallowed the bile in his throat. "Well, the stalker becomes increasingly more violent in her attempts to get closer to McGregor and the surrogate."

Green eyes narrowed, but Tony kept a gentle gaze on the younger man and his voice even as he said, "What does she do? What are we standing around waiting for to happen?"

"Well, Twilia is put in protective custody until the team arrests the stalker," Tim answered. "Delilah is refusing to do that. She doesn't think she needs it."

"As long as she stays at the D.O.D she'll be fine," Tony countered. "What about the surrogate?"

"My character never hurt the surrogate; she wanted the baby."

"So, Leah is safe."

"Safer than Delilah…"

Tony wasn't sure he was comforted by that, but he didn't say anything. He had done his best to keep it under wraps to Leah that she was being placed into protective custody by sending her to the hotel. As long as she stayed up in the room… she would never know about the agent posted down in the lobby… "Did your wife agree to a protection detail once she leaves the office for evening?"

Tim angrily grumbled. "No. She thinks we're overreacting to a drunk fan. She did agree to let me pick her up after work was done. What about Leah? Is she okay with Nick following her around?"

He chuckled, nervously. "She actually doesn't know about that. Sent her to the hotel with her parents; Nick is posted in the lobby."

"She's going to be pissed at you when she finds out."

"She's already pissed at me about something I said to her in the car."

"Are you trying to sleep the entire month of May on the sofa?"

"No, but I'm getting pretty close, aren't I?"

Sighing, Tim rubbed his hands over his face. Tony sleeping on the sofa the entire month of May was the least of their problems. They had a stalker to find and a killer to stop.

* * *

It did not take Leah long to realize that she hated being confined to a hotel suite while pregnant more than she hated being confined to her home while pregnant.

When her parents had taken the kids down to the pool for a quick swim before dinner, Leah slipped downstairs to the gift shop so she could buy a candy bar—and maybe a few other snacks to stash in her room for later. She was always hungry now that her pregnancy was in the final stages and she knew her parents would not let her out of their room to get food later. They were just as bad as Tony about keeping her under wraps.

As she paid for her snacks she spotted a familiar face sitting in the lobby, flipping through the pages of a sports magazine. Leah put the bag of candy bars into her purse and headed out across the lobby, weaving, or rather waddling, her way through the crowd to get to the young man.

"This is an odd place to be spending your lunch break, Agent Torres," Leah said when she reached him.

Nick Torres glanced up from his magazine and offered her an easy smile. She had only met him once, after Tony had returned from his leave of absence in November, but even back then she knew he was a smooth charmer. "The lobby of a hotel is much more exciting than the staff lounge at NCIS. I've never been an office guy."

Leah shook her head. She wasn't buying that. She knew _exactly_ why Torres was here and who had sent him. "You can come clean with me, Agent Torres, I know my husband sent you here. You can go back to NCIS and tell him that I'm behaving and have not left the hotel."

He smiled, although, nervously this time. "Sorry, I'm afraid that I can't do that Mrs. DiNozzo. I've been ordered to stay here for the time being."

She could feel herself getting more agitated with Tony. "Ordered? Is that Tony's clever way of making sure I have a baby-sitter?"

"Ah, I don't know, ma'am. I was told to come here and stay here until relieved."

"Relieved? By who?"

"Whoever Agent DiNozzo sends."

Leah rolled her eyes and reached into her bag for her cell phone. She saw Torres immediately start to panic as he rose from his seat and grabbed for her hand.

Torres gently guided her hand back towards her bag and pried the phone out of her fingers, dropping it into the purse. "No need to call him, okay. I wasn't supposed to be seen."

She frowned at him. "Come clean with me and I won't call him."

He let go of her wrist and glanced around. "Fine then. NCIS is a bit concerned that the woman who left you that note at the restaurant is stalking McGee and everyone that he knows. Tony didn't want you to worry; which is why he sent you to the hotel because he could set up a protection detail without you knowing."

 _I'm going to make sure he sleeps on the couch for a month,_ Leah thought, angrily. Just as she was about to go off on poor Torres, the NCIS agent's cell phone rang. He gestured for her to stay where she was and stepped away out of earshot. Leah crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot angrily on the tile floor, watching Torres speaking on the phone.

When he hung up abruptly and moved towards her, the friendly look in his eyes, the easy smile—they were gone. Immediately, Leah could feel the mood change. Something had happened.

"I'm going to have to ask that you go back up to your hotel room, Mrs. DiNozzo," Torres said. He handed her his card. "If you need anything, call my cell phone and I will bring it to you, but please… do not leave the room."

"What happened? Is my husband alright?" Leah asked, anxiously, her anger completely gone.

Torres nodded. "Tony is fine. Please, Mrs. DiNozzo, please return to your room. I will even walk you up."

Leah swallowed, felt the baby kick and move inside of her; she thought back to the note and her time at the hospital. Even if she wanted to press Torres for more answers, she didn't want to put her baby in anymore danger. Quietly, she went with Torres back up to her hotel room finally understanding that whatever was happening was much bigger than she originally believed.

* * *

Gibbs immediately knew that something was wrong the moment he stepped back into the bullpen from a much needed coffee break. "Talk to me, DiNozzo."

Tony pulled his blazer down, tightly, rising up from his desk. "McGee just called about ten minutes ago."

"And?"

"Delilah didn't return from lunch. He went over to D.O.D to convince her to have protection; they told him she hadn't been seen for over two hours."

"Did he try to call her?"

"She didn't answer. Abby's tracing her cell. Tim was coordinating efforts with D.O.D security."

Gibbs felt his chest tighten. Their efforts had been so concentrated on finding the stalker that they had been lackadaisical about Delilah's safety. They had taken her job at D.O.D for granted but didn't take into account that she might _leave_ the building. "Torres still at the hotel with Leah?"

Tony nodded, his green eyes hard. "I just called and gave him an update. I'd like to give him a better photograph of the woman we're looking for."

"Abby was working on cleaning it up," Gibbs responded, softly. "Does Leah know he's there?"

"If I know Leah, she probably found her way down to the lobby at some point and spotted him," Tony remarked, "but she hasn't called me to chew me out."

"Let's get another agent on the ground there," the team leader replied. "If this nut job shows up at the hotel and Torres has to chase her, I want someone there to protect Leah in case she isn't working alone."

"Ducky's theory is she's working alone; she wants the baby and Delilah gone," the SFA said, quietly. "What if she gets more violent, boss? My in-laws and the kids are with Leah."

Gibbs softened his stance, slightly. "I'll make sure you get a chance to check on them tonight."

Tony offered him a tight smile. "Leah's angry with me. I'm the last person she wants to see."

"Well, maybe she'll be calmer in the morning."

"Boss, she's days away from having that baby. There is no calm place for her right now."

Gibbs sighed, "Maybe when we find this psycho—there will be a calm place for her." Until then, they were all living in an anxious state.

* * *

Alice Malloy woke up dazed and confused, on the side of the road no less. Rubbing the fog from her eyes she sat up and looked around. It was rural road, not many cars probably drove here... which was why no one had found her.

Everything had gone haywire when that lady forced her way into Mrs. McGee's car and made her drive out of Washington. The two women had been forced to shut their cell phones off and to remain quiet while they drove. At some point the psycho lady had asked Mrs. McGee to pull over onto the side of the road and she forced Alice to get out of the car. Which is pretty much where Alice's memory went blank.

In the hot, setting sun, Alice squinted down the road. What were the chances she was going to have reception out here? Fishing her phone out of her pocket she found that she had enough bars and battery to make a call. She dialed _911._ "Hello, my name is Alice Malloy... I'd like to report an abduction."


	6. Chapter 6

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** I hope I'm not boring you. I don't seem to be getting a lot of feedback, so no news is good news, right? Anyways, hope you like this chapter. Happy weekend!

* * *

Tony heard the familiar sound of a baby's heartbeat fill the tiny room as he pulled the curtain back. Alice was sitting in a hospital bed, drinking a juice box and nibbling on some crackers. The SFA felt a tremendous wave of relief overcome his body. Tim and Delilah's baby was okay. "Miss Malloy?" he questioned, holding up his badge. "I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

Alice smiled, recognizing the name. "You're Mr. and Mrs. McGee's friend. They gave me your number in case of emergencies and they couldn't be reached."

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Tony inquired, stepping up to her bed. "It shouldn't take too long."

"No. I don't mind. I'm feeling better," Alice said. "I just hope I can help you. I told the police everything that I could remember."

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "Did you notice anything unusual when you went in for your doctor's appointment this afternoon? Anyone hanging around?"

Alice shook her head. "No, until the woman forced her way into the car and made us drive… I had never seen her before."

"Did she have a weapon?"

"Looked like a kitchen knife… you know one that you would cut up vegetables while cooking."

Tony clenched his fists at his sides. "Did she say anything while you were driving?"

Alice shook her head again. "No. Not really. She did say that Mrs. McGee was an imposter… and that she was going to live happily ever after with Agent McGregor and their baby… I don't know what she was really talking about… she seemed a little… off the rails if you ask me."

 _Off the rails… that's an accurate description,_ he thought as his phone buzzed. Tony pulled it out of his pocket to see that Abby had sent a less grainy photograph of their suspect. He held it up to show Alice. "Is this the woman that abducted you and Mrs. McGee?"

"Yeah, looks just like her," Alice replied.

"I don't suppose she gave a name?"

"Twila… maybe."

 _Figures. No easy break._ Tony sighed and thanked her. "Listen, an officer is going to stay with you until an agent can bring you back to the city. Do you have anyone outside of Washington that you can stay with for a while?"

Alice blinked, noticing that he was still very concerned for her safety. "Um… my parents live in Maryland."

Tony set his jaw and told her to take a few days and go to Maryland, the NCIS agent would take her there. He left feeling little relief. Looking at the local officer that had met him at the hospital, Tony gave him a frown. "Agent Gibbs back yet?"

"No sir," the officer said. "Heard over my radio they found Mrs. McGee's car."

"How far from here?"

"Twenty miles north."

Tony pursed his lips and nodded. "Alright, stay with her. I'm going to meet up with Agent Gibbs."

The officer paused as Tony walked away and called out, "Sir? Nothing like this happens around here… this is a small… rural town."

 _Yeah, well, it had happened,_ Tony thought as he walked to his he car and got inside. Gripping the steering wheel he watched the storm clouds gathering. Seemed fitting since they were caught in this real life thriller.

He managed to wiggle out of his blazer and threw it the back seat of the car. Before starting the vehicle up, he put a phone call into McGee. He knew that he didn't have much to tell him but _anything_ would better than nothing. Tony knew it was what he would want if the situation was reversed.

It was the hardest call he ever had to make. Tony hated every second of it. "God, I hope I don't have to do that again," he muttered after hanging up.

Tossing the phone onto the passenger seat, Tony started the car up and headed in the direction that Delilah's car was found.

Almost thirty minutes later, dust kicked up as Tony drove the Charger towards the flashing lights from local police cruisers. He threw it in park and stepped out, his phone buzzing in his pocket. He knew that it was Leah, she had been trying to reach him for three hours now. Tony was just choosing to ignore her, putting off the scolding he was going to get from her.

Gibbs looked up at his second in command while he strode over. His muscles were taut. It had been a long forty-eight hours and it was only going to get longer. In his blue eyes Tony could see his questions and he answered, "Alice is fine. The baby is fine. I heard the heartbeat myself."

"She's moving quickly to take Delilah out and take her place," Gibbs surmised.

"Looks that way," Tony said, sternly.

"Which means… her next move is Leah," the former marine pointed out. "She wants your daughter to fulfill this fantasy she has with McGee."

Tony's shoulders went rigid. "Over my dead body, boss."

Gibbs shook his head, sadly. "It might come to that Tony."

"Leah is at the hotel right now with Agent Torres. Doubt this psychopath is getting to her there."

"You can't keep her locked up at that hotel forever; she won't go for it," Gibbs said, calmly.

"She'll stay there as long as I tell her to stay there," Tony snapped.

Gibbs sighed and reached out, grasping Tony's shoulder tightly. "DiNozzo… let's focus on finding Delilah. Right now, Leah is safe. We find Delilah, we're one step closer to finding the woman responsible for all this, okay?"

Tony took a deep breath. "Boss, I just… this woman is threatening _everyone_ that I care about, not just my wife and my children… but Tim and Delilah… my closest friends… I want… I want her to rot in jail. Or handcuffed to a bed in a psych ward… I don't care which! Just… this has to stop."

"Agent Gibbs," an officer called. "I think we found something."

"See? Maybe some luck, DiNozzo," Gibbs quipped, patting him on the shoulder.

"Luck…" Tony repeated as he followed behind the team leader. Abby didn't believe in luck but even as the two agents approached, he saw that _luck_ was on their side. A photo ID of their suspect. _There is a God._

Gibbs grabbed the evidence bag, looked at it briefly and then handed it to his second. "Have Ellie run background on her. Ducky…a full profile."

Tony licked his dry lips, swallowing the anxious bile in this throat. "You want me to go back to D.C?"

"Someone needs to go with the car… and someone needs to head the investigation up back at the office," Gibbs said, looking at him, pointedly. "Tony… you've been ready to lead for years… you just haven't had the courage to leave the nest. I need you back in D.C… FBI is on their way to help me."

"Good ole Fornell, always ready to help us in a pinch. Sure he isn't secretly one of us?"

"DiNozzo."

"Sorry, boss, heading back to Washington."

Gibbs watched as his agent left, getting back into the Charger and flooring it back to the city. More thunder rumbled in the distance, signaling the on-coming storm. Gibbs knew that they had little time on their hands before the skies opened on top of them. Hopefully by then they had all the evidence they needed to find Delilah.

* * *

There wasn't a time in recent memory that Tony could recall Tim this violently angry.

As he strode off the elevator, evidence and Alice's statement in hand, the senior field agent was nearly assaulted by his partner demanding answers. Tony reached out and gripped Tim's shoulders tightly. "Alice is fine; the baby is fine. Gibbs and the local authorities are still searching for Delilah in the area."

Tim ground his teeth. "That's not good enough. They should have found her by now! They should have something to report to me!"

"Listen, I know you're worried and frustrated," Tony said, guiding Tim towards his desk and sitting him down. "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

"Yeah? Before or after Delilah is killed?" Tim snapped, glaring at Tony. "What if this was Leah? What if she was missing? Would be happy if I was telling you that we were going to get to the bottom of this?"

"Well, for one thing, I wouldn't have given Leah a choice when it came to a protection detail," Tony said, snatching up the evidence and heading towards the elevator. He had a lot of evidence to deliver to Abby and he didn't have time to mess around with Tim's hypothetical situations.

Tony stepped inside the elevator and hit the button for Abby's floor, nearly blindsided by Tim—who resembled more of a flash of gray and purple and pure rage as he swung at his partner. Fortunately for Tony, Tim's anger misguided his fist and the younger man punched the elevator wall. "What the hell, McGee!"

Tim nursed his hand, which was already red and swollen. "Bastard! Do you think you're better than me because you tricked your wife into a protection detail! Unlike you, I don't think it's a good idea to _lie_ to my wife! I told Delilah the truth!"

He ducked another crazy punch, clutching the evidence bags to his chest. Tony knew he'd pushed McGee's buttons, but he didn't have time for this. "Hey! Don't pin this on me! You wrote the damn book!"

As the doors to the elevator opened, Tony ducked another swing, and grabbed Tim by the scruff of his collar. He dragged his partner, kicking and screaming into the lab. In this time Tony wasn't able to duck anymore blows and Tim's fist connected with his jaw.

"McGee!" Abby gasped. "What are you doing?"

"It's fine, Abs," Tony snapped, letting go of McGee and nursing his jaw. "He's frustrated."

"But…"

"Don't argue with me. I have evidence for you."

Abby watched as Tony placed the bags on her table and mumbled that he was going to get some ice for his jaw. She shifted her gaze at Tim. "What the hell?"

Tim shouted, spitting venom, "He accused me! He thinks this is all my fault! I didn't actually create the crazy person roaming around the streets of D.C stalking our family and hurting them! And just because he tricked Leah into being placed into protective custody and I didn't trick Delilah, he thinks he's better than me!"

She quietly opened the bag. Tim had been stalking around the building since returning from the D.O.D. Vance had benched him and the strain had certainly taken a toll on him. "Tony's frustrated."

"Frustrated? Why? Leah's safe at a hotel with Nick watching guard in the lobby!" Tim cried, his voice cracking. "No psychopath woman is coming after her!"

"No, but she's coming after their baby," Abby argued.

"We don't know that. Delilah and our surrogate were kidnapped!"

"Leah is the one closer to giving birth; like the surrogate in the book."

"The book, the damn book! Tony's right… I was the one that wrote the damn book!"

"Tim! I cannot work with all this…negative energy around!"

"I'm sorry! I created this entire mess!"

Tony stepped back into the lab at that moment, holding an ice pack to his jaw. "Timothy McGee," he scolded, "I restrained from kicking your ass in the elevator because I probably deserved to be swung at—but keep it up—I'll kick your ass right here in the lab."

Tim buried his face in his hands and slumped down onto a stool. He wanted to be out in the field, working, helping to find the woman responsible for hurting Delilah and Alice. He felt a hand pat him on the shoulder and knew that it was Tony. Only his partner could forgive him so quickly and easily for punching him in the face.

The SFA cleared his throat. "Maybe you can stay here and help Abby. I'm going to go check on Leah at the hotel. It's late, she's already angry at me and the longer I put off getting ripped a new one by her—the worse it's going to be."

* * *

Leah tried to get some sleep. Her parents had let her take the smaller bedroom, with Tali and Jack, in their suite but Leah was finding it hard to fall asleep. Tony had not returned her text messages or phone calls, which had left a pit growing larger and larger in her stomach. And the television her parents were watching out in the living room wasn't helping in her situation of trying to get to sleep. Actually, the whole being nine months pregnant thing was not helping her get to sleep. She was incredibly uncomfortable, even with a pillow between her legs. Rolling over onto her back she threw her left arm out and realized the _real_ reason she was struggling to fall asleep. Tony wasn't there.

She sighed and peered through the dim light. Jack was sound asleep in the portable crib, curled up and looking a little uncomfortable. Maybe it was time for him to get a big boy bed. Tali was pressed against her side, her little arms and legs wrapped around her stepmother.

Groaning she sat up and flipped the light near the bed on and reached for the small note pad. If she wasn't going to get any sleep that night she was certainly going to get to work on naming her daughter. What she really wanted to do was go out and take a walk to clear her head but she knew that wasn't safe... even with Nick following her around. _Speaking of Nick... it's been a while since he actually checked in on me._

Slipping out of bed, Leah carefully went into the living room, not wanting to disturb her parents who were watching late night television. Grabbing a room key and some spare change, she ventured out into the hall, found a soda machine and snack machine, purchased something, and made her way back down to the lobby.

It was almost empty this time of night, a few stragglers coming and going; some patrons at the bar. Leah immediately noticed that Nick was not sitting on the plush sofa, reading, where she had left him four hours ago when she went to bring him money for dinner. Peeking into the bar she didn't find him there, not that she believed she would... while he had a dark side, he was dedicated to his job. She did find a couple of businessmen that frowned at her when they saw that she was pregnant and wearing a wedding band. _Some men can be so disgusting... on a business trip and looking for a nameless romp._

Leah gasped when a hand came down on her shoulder and she was about to scream when she was spun about and a hand clamped down over her mouth. Her eyes widened but then she slapped the hand away and hissed, "Tony!"

"What the hell are you doing out of the hotel room, alone?" Tony snapped.

"I was bringing Nick a soda and a snack!" Leah shot back, her heart still hammering against her ribcage. "Don't you ever sneak up on me like that again!"

Tony saw the businessmen at the bar looking at them, puzzled, and he took his wife by the arm and led her away. "Leah, please don't make me lecture you on the importance of taking this threat seriously. You have Nick's cell number, you should have sent him a text, had him come up to the suite to meet you."

Leah grumbled something under her breath. "Fine next time I will," she said. "Where is Nick anyways?"

"Sent him home for the night."

"What! Did you just lecture me about wandering around the hotel without my protection detail only to send him home?"

"I'm going to stay as your protection detail," he replied, heading towards the elevator.

"Oh," she said, softly, letting him gently pull her through the hotel.

Tony silently got into the elevator with his wife, hit the button for their floor and slumped against the wall. It had been an incredibly trying day. He reached out and gently rubbed Leah's belly.

Leah saw the tension in his shoulders. She knew how much he liked to be in control when it came to his cases... the team had no control in this situation. He had a troubled look in his eyes and she covered his hand with her own. "Tony," she whispered, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left the room. But I promise I am taking this seriously."

He straightened his shoulders and pulled her towards him, planting a soft kiss on the top of head when she buried her face against his chest. "I know," he affirmed, holding her tightly. "Three weeks from now, when our baby girl comes into this world... this will be nothing but a very bad memory."

She sighed and inhaled a deep breath of his scent. "I hope you're right."

* * *

Rain was splashing on her face and soaking straight through her clothes. Delilah opened her eyes and found herself gazing up at the large hole in the barn. Water streamed down from a thunderstorm, lightening flashed and illuminated her space.

Her head was pounding from the blow it had taken, but her immediate thoughts were of Alice, left on the side of the road in that heat. At least she could open her mouth right now and drink as much as the rain water as she could. What had Alice had to drink? Had someone found her on that back road leading out to nowhere? If no one had that meant she was probably dead… which meant that…

 _No. Alice is fine. The baby is fine. Tim, the team, they are going to find you,_ Delilah thought, furiously as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. In the dim barn she couldn't tell if her chair was near by. Her purse and phone were gone, no doubt. And who knew where that psycho bitch had left her car.

Lightening flashed again, the space brightening and Delilah could see that her chair was gone. She was just going to have to wait to be saved. Hopefully the NCIS team wasn't too late.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Here is the next chapter! Thank you **Singing Silverwings** and **VG Littlebear** for your feedback on the last chapter, it gave me motivation to keep writing in this verse.

* * *

Rich smells of a Columbian roast filled the hotel lobby the following morning. Tony was thankful that there was a Starbucks tucked into a corner of the lavish hotel; he had not slept. His evening had consisted of late night television and watching his cell phone for any updates on their case.

Outside the sun was already shining brightly, promising another hot day. Tony had opted for jeans and polo shirt that morning, deciding that sweating all day was only going to ruin his good suits.

Getting into the line at Starbucks with well-dressed businessmen and inappropriately dressed tourists, Tony glanced at his watch. It was just before seven. Lifting his eyes towards the front door, the senior field agent watched as the average height, mildly built, Torres glided through the revolving doors. _Right on time,_ Tony thought as he reached the front of the line. Tony made sure to order two coffees and two scones. He didn't know what Torres liked; he was a bit of a mystery to the SFA. He knew that Nick had taken his place on the team while he'd been away—a pet project McGee had told him. Torres was a bit of stray that needed a home and leave it to Gibbs to sniff him out and offer one.

He did know that Torres was one of the best when it came to undercover work. The young man could probably write the book on it, which had been the reason Tony had called and assigned Torres to Leah. Nick could blend into a room and not be seen…

"Wasn't sure if you liked coffee," Tony said in greeting when he approached Nick.

"Thank you," Nick said, politely. DiNozzo was as much a mystery to Nick, as Nick was to DiNozzo. "I assume it was quiet last night."

"You assume right," Tony said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Everyone is still upstairs. My in-laws are planning on taking the kids to the zoo today. My wife, she's going to coax you into letting her go to her office… she can go… but you go with her."

Nick smiled. "The concept of a protection detail fails her, doesn't it?"

Tony frowned. "No, she's just stubborn."

Chuckling, Nick took a sip of his own coffee. "I'll make sure that if she does want to go over to the University that I go with her—no exceptions."

His cell phone was ringing, ending their conversation. Tony thanked Nick, once again, for taking this assignment, and with his hazelnut latte in his hand, answered his phone. "Yeah, Abs… what have you got for me?"

* * *

Tony was nearly pounced on when he entered the lab. Abby was bouncing on her heels, talking so fast that he could hardly understand her. "Whoa! Slow down Abby! What have you got for me?"

She slowed down, but only just enough for Tony to understand her. "Thanks to the ID that was found last night, Tim and I have been digging deeper into this crazy lady's past. She was arrested for assault at a hospital two years ago... she attacked a nurse in the maternity ward when the nurse wouldn't let her into the nursery to see _her_ baby _._ Tony! She didn't have any baby in that nursery! She hadn't given birth!"

He felt that the pieces were finally falling into place; things were starting to become clearer. "Not surprising that she has a pattern of violent behavior," Tony quipped. "Did she serve any time?"

Abby shook her head. "No, the nurse felt awful that she had lost her husband and baby in a car accident," Abby said. "She ended up dropping the charges."

"Wait? Lost her husband and baby?" Tony repeated.

"Two years ago Trisha and her husband were hit by a drunk driver on their way home from Thanksgiving dinner," Tim reported, hitting some keys on the keyboard and bringing up the news report. "Her husband was killed and Trish, six months pregnant at the time, lost her baby."

 _Oh,_ Tony thought, as the pieces really began to fall into place. "She used your book as an escape."

Tim sighed, heavily. "Yes, except that in this case the escape became a reality."

Abby glanced, sadly at Tony. "I'm still running all the prints and everything you collected at Delilah's car. If the prints match the ones on file for Trisha, we'll have enough for a warrant."

"Something tells me that the trial won't take very long," Tony said. "In the book, does the crazy stalker kidnap Twila?"

"Yes," Tim replied. "Drops her off in the middle of nowhere, at the gas station the first crime scene was staged."

"McGee! That's brilliant!" Tony exclaimed, fishing out his cell phone, and dialing Gibbs. He stepped out of the lab to quietly speak with Gibbs, which he knew was going to irk Tim—but he was under clear orders to keep Tim at arm's length."You said something about family?"

Abby brought the information up. "We could only find a brother in the area."

Tony glanced at his watch. Bishop should have arrived by now. He'd grab her and take her to interview the brother. "That's good work. Let me know when those prints come back."

"Where are you going?" Tim asked, his voice strained.

"Going to find Ellie and go interview the brother," Tony replied, softly. "And no—you cannot come with me."

"We both know that if this was reversed—if Leah was missing—you wouldn't be sitting around in the lab doing nothing!" Tim shouted.

"Listen, Tim," Tony said, backing away slightly. He did not want to have to explain another bruise to Gibbs. "I know this is difficult. Vance doesn't want you out in the field so the case doesn't get compromised. I promise, the moment I know something, the moment I hear from Gibbs—I'll call you."

Tim was agitated—not as agitated as he had been the night before when he punch Tony, but it was close. "I feel like I can do more than just sit here."

Tony gave him a soft, understanding look. "You've done more than enough, Tim."

His eyes grew dark and angry. "Oh, right, because I wrote the damn book."

Shaking his head, Tony clarified, "That's not what I meant—you found information I can use, while being emotionally compromised." He reached out and grasped Tim's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before he turned to go.

"WAIT!" Abby and Tim yelled at the same time, halting Tony.

"There's more," Abby said, grinning. "Trisha is known throughout the _Deep Six_ community."

Tony arched an eyebrow in confusion. " _Deep Six_ community?"

Tim frowned, slightly. "Online message boards, twitter, you know social media stuff. We've contacted several of the sites asking for copies of her posts. Ducky has them now and is looking over them to add to his profile. But she honestly thinks that she _is_ Twila McGregor. Anyone who disputes that... well... she isn't very nice to them shall we say."

Abby wrapped a pigtail around her finger. "People were afraid of her becoming violent towards others, we contacted the company that hosts the message boards; they received several complaints against Trisha, they even suspended her account—she just made more."

"She doesn't take _no_ for an answer," Tony mused. He was starting to really fear for Leah and the baby.

"No, she doesn't," Abby replied. "And I think she's only going to get more violent, Tony. Promise me that Nick is staying on Leah like glue!"

"He's staying on her like glue—and if he isn't, I'm with her," Tony promised. "We're going to have Trisha in custody before Leah has to go to the hospital to have the baby."

Tim grunted. "Sure about that? It is _your_ child we're talking about—since when do you stick to the plan?"

Tony glared, slightly, at him. "If we don't have Trisha before my daughter is born, I'll stick an agent in the nursery with her."

Abby chewed on her lip for a moment. She didn't doubt Tony would plunk himself in the nursery to keep his baby daughter safe—the other parents at the hospital might not like it, however.

Before anyone could say another word, Tony's cell phone rang. He answered it, still looking at McGee with a steady glare. The glare quickly changed to a tense, troubled look—someone had broken into the DiNozzos' house, and Tony had a good idea who.

* * *

The moment that they pulled up to his house and the local cops met them... Tony knew she had gotten away. He inwardly cursed. They had been so close to ending this. "Did anyone see who broke in?"

"Sorry Mr. DiNozzo, but no," the officer replied with a shake of his head. "Odd... it doesn't appear that anything was disturbed or taken from the house. Except in the nursery... guess we'll need you or your wife to go through and see what is missing."

"Yeah, thanks," Tony muttered as the officer walked away. He let out a little sigh. He didn't need to go through the baby's room to know what Trisha had taken. He could almost guarantee that all of his daughter's clothes, blankets, and toys that were patiently waiting for their owner to be born were among the items that were missing.

Ellie broke into his concentration by remarking, "She's getting ready for the baby."

Tony swallowed, clenched his fists as his sides, "Baby is due any day now."

"She was options, Tony, of getting to that baby. She could lay low until the baby is born and then try to take her... abduct Leah, wait for her to go into labor and deliver the baby herself...," Ellie remarked.

"What happens if she doesn't want to wait?" Tony inquired, afraid of the answer.

Ellie bit down on her lower lip and nearly whispered, "It's too gruesome to talk about."

Tony was happy she didn't voice it. His nerves were frayed. Trisha was coming after his wife and his daughter. She had already disposed of Delilah... the last pieces of the puzzle remained to be put into place; those pieces were getting a baby... and getting her happily ever after with Tim. He looked at his watch. It was close to ten, they still had not gotten anything back on the BOLO they had put out for Trisha... Ducky theorized that the woman would change her appearance, use a different, false identification. Still... they had to try.

He looked at the house, debating whether or not he should tell his wife that their stalker had taken their daughter's belongings. He certainly didn't feel good about her being in her office all day. If Trisha could locate their house than she could locate Leah's office. He was going to have to have Nick bring Leah to NCIS.

"I'm going to call and update Gibbs," Ellie reported. "He's going to want to know Trisha was at your house and that she took the baby's things."

"Guess I should go upstairs and make a list of what's missing," Tony mumbled, leaving the probationary agent's side and entering his house.

The police were right, nothing else had been disturbed, but upstairs he found that the baby's room had been torn apart hastily. All the big items still remained, it was the small things that were gone... the clothes, the blankets, the toys... diapers... it was all missing. Trisha was making her final preparations to get her hands on his baby girl.

Dropping his backpack down, he pulled out his equipment to dust for prints. When they finally caught up with this crazy woman he wanted all the evidence they could gather against her to throw her ass in jail for a long, long time. He had just finished up when his phone buzzed, pulling it out and looking down at it he saw that it was from Abby. _Come back to the Navy Yard... your hunch was right! Gibbs found Delilah!_

* * *

"So, how does an NCIS agent meet a professor?" Nick asked, watching Leah grading papers.

"Are you looking for me to set you up?" Leah teased.

Nick chuckled. "No. It's just that you and Agent DiNozzo seem like exact opposites."

Leah smiled. "We are. That's why it works."

He returned the smile. "True, but you still haven't told me how you met. So, how does an agent meet a professor? I doubt you were running around in the same circles."

She looked away, shyly, recalling the day she had met her husband at the coffee shop. No, they didn't run in the same social circles. How they had met and the circumstances surrounding it could be any couple's story; it was when you dug deeper and found out that the circumstances were really crafted from a series of events and if that series of events had not happened… well… Leah wasn't sure if they'd be together. "We met at our favorite coffee shop. It took Tony a while to ask me out."

"From what I hear, that was unusual for him."

"It was true; he did have a reputation for being a player."

"And you tamed the player," Nick said, grinning.

Leah shifted in her seat, feeling the slight pain in her abdomen. Nick wanted her to go to the hospital but her water had not broken yet, she was fine. She had work that needed to be completed before she went on her maternity leave. "I found out quickly that the player persona was just an act. Tony likes to hide behind masks; I was the first woman patient enough I suppose to peel the masks back and find the real person."

Nick sighed and looked out the large, old window in Leah's office. He knew about masks. He had worn them his entire career with NCIS. He was slowly learning to remove them. "Don't we all have masks?"

She shrugged and went back to her term papers. "Of course. There's a time for everything—even hiding behind a mask."

He realized that she was probably right. His cell phone rang and Nick answered, quietly stepping out of her office. When he stepped back into the office, she could tell that something had changed. "We need to go to NCIS. Grab your term papers—we're taking this show on the road."

* * *

Her nursery was complete. She just had to wait for her baby to arrive.

Breaking into the house had been easy. Finding what she had wanted had been easy. Getting in and out of the house before the cops arrived... that had been the hard part. Even so, she had waited in the darkness of the neighbor's back yard for everything to settle down. Once the police were gone, the federal agents... she had walked until she could find a cab.

Once the cab had dropped her off at her apartment it took her no time to put her baby's things in their proper room. Lindsey and Tommy's baby was going to be properly loved.

She was going to make sure of it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** Thank you for the response to the last chapter. I think I got back to all of you after the glitch cleared up, but if I did not I apologize. I hope you enjoy the update!

* * *

The team had made her as comfortable as they possibly could in the conference room. Leah had pillows Abby kept stashed in her lab behind her back, a pitcher of water, and lots of snacks. Nick was at her "beck and call" if she needed anything; he wasn't so happy about it, but he was doing his best to be cordial.

Leah could tell that he preferred to be out in the field, rather than playing baby-sitter to her. She still didn't understand _why_ Nick was following her around. Tony was being tight-lipped about the whole thing and that was starting to make her anxious. He seemed concerned for her safety—and not the safety of Jack and Tali—otherwise, he would have locked the kids up in her with her.

Behind her the door opened. Leah glanced up to see her husband step inside the room. He looked tired. She knew he had not slept the previous night; she had heard him get up several times. "Nick tells me that you're experiencing contractions—maybe we should move this to the hospital."

"I'm fine. They aren't close enough together to leave just yet," Leah argued. "Besides, my water hasn't broken, yet."

"You know, the work will be there after you have this baby," Tony remarked. "You can certainly do it from the comfort of home on maternity leave."

"Maybe if you told me what was going on, I'd be willing to go to the hospital," she countered, sneakily.

"Don't play me like that," he snapped, eyes dark with anger. "This is serious."

Leah felt her anger boiling just underneath the surface; she closed her grade book and glared at him. "So serious that you're refusing to tell me what's going on? I'm not a child, Anthony, and we've been through plenty enough together that you do not have to keep things from me."

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. How could he make her understand that he was just trying to protect her? If she knew too much it might have health consequences on her and the baby. She already had one panic attack related to this case. "I'm doing what I think is best for you and the baby."

She felt some tears prick the backs of her eyes. "Tony… you're frightening me."

He sat down next to her, pulled her close, and kissed her hair. "I promise, Leah, you're safe."

"I know but safe from _what,_ Tony?"

"I wish I could tell you."

Leah pulled back from her husband and somehow lumbered out of her pillowed stuffed chair. "Anthony Dominic DiNozzo—you can tell me, you're just _refusing_ to tell me."

Tony winced and smiled, faintly. "Oh boy, you pulled the middle name card."

She put her hands on her hips. "Yes, even Jack understands _that_ means I mean business, and he isn't even two yet."

He sighed, knowing full well that he wasn't going to be able to keep things secret from her any longer. "Did you read Tim's last book?"

"What? Yes. Don't change the subject."

"I'm not; we're living his book right now. Someone has cast all of us as the characters in the book."

Her eyes suddenly went wide with fear and understanding. Leah swallowed, anxiously, before plopping back into her chair. "Let me guess—I'm the surrogate the stalker was obsessed with?"

His hand gently covered her own. "Listen, we know _who_ that someone is, and we're looking for her. This is not going to end up like the book."

Leah glanced away, ignoring the obvious contraction she was experiencing. "Where's Delilah?"

Tony quickly responded, "With Gibbs."

"Where's Gibbs then?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nick told me he was being called back to NCIS because it was all hands on deck—well, if that's the case, Gibbs would be here and so wouldn't Delilah if she's with Gibbs," Leah snapped, immediately seeing through the smoke and mirrors. "She was kidnapped, just like Twila was in the book, wasn't she?"

"Yes—but she's been found and really is with Gibbs," Tony argued. "He took her to the local hospital and had her checked out by a doctor; she'll probably be back in D.C by this evening."

Leah blinked her tears back and clumsily nodded her head. Someone was coming after her baby and it was someone that was completely deranged.

Tony sensed her panic and leaned forward, gathering her into his arms, protectively. "I promise, Leah, nothing is going to happen to our baby. I won't let it."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, burying her nose against his cotton polo shirt. "I know. Do you think… I know you're busy… but could you… stay with me for a bit."

He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah. I have a few minutes—I can stay with you."

"Good," Leah sighed, pulling away from him. She smiled, softly. "We need to talk about baby names."

"What?" Tony sputtered.

Leah smiled, sweetly. "Well, we both know that the baby is probably going to arrive in twenty-four hours—and we don't have a name for her!"

Tony frowned, knowing that he wasn't getting out of that room anytime soon, no matter what he said. "I trust your judgment; you pick."

When she glared at him, he knew that wasn't going to get him out of this. Tony sighed and smiled at her, softly. "Fine. Where shall we start?"

* * *

Gibbs owed Abby, and Tim, about a hundred Caf-Pows each when he made it back to D.C—and he owed Tony a whole lot more for putting _all_ the pieces of the puzzle together.

Delilah had been found, dazed, dehydrated, and wet in the very barn the team had investigated that skull at the night before. Paramedics didn't seem too concerned when they loaded the young woman into an ambulance and headed towards the local ER. Gibbs on the other hand was worried but not about her condition.

It appeared she was going to be fine. NCIS had foiled Trisha's plans by finding Delilah, by keeping Leah out of her reach. However, this was when she was going to get even more violent. Gibbs didn't need Ducky to tell him that. As he was waiting for the doctor to come out and update him on Delilah's condition, Gibbs heard his phone beep. Pulling it out he saw a text message from Tony. _Warrant came back. Should we go pick up Trisha now? Please? I'm in baby name hell._

Gibbs laughed, silently. The team leader figured Leah was going to rope her husband into picking out a name for their daughter while she idled around NCIS. It was probably a welcomed distraction for her.

"Agent Gibbs," a voice said. He looked up to see a doctor approach. "Mrs. McGee is alert and resting. She said you could come in and see her now."

"Did she suffer any serious injuries?" Gibbs asked while they walked towards Delilah's room.

"Mild concussion from the blow to the head and dehydration but other than that, she should be fine," the doctor reported.

Gibbs thanked him before stepping into Delilah's room. She looked up at him with a tired smile. "I hear that Alice and the baby are okay," she said, softly, looking at her hands. "I didn't think that this would escalate so quickly. It was a dumb idea to go to that doctor's appointment without a protection detail."

The team leader sighed. It would not help if they dwelt on what they should have done differently, because there were a lot of things that they could have done differently. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"We were approached by this woman as we got into the car. She forced us to drive out of the city," Delilah said. "We also had to shut our phones off so they couldn't be traced. Once we were out of the city she had me pull over and she left Alice on the side of the road. I think we drove another fifteen minutes or so and then she had me pull over again. After that everything goes blank and I woke up in that barn. Did you find who did this yet?"

"Not yet but we have an identity. She dropped her ID at the crime scene when she abandoned her car," Gibbs replied, firmly. "BOLO's are out and we have a location on her apartment. Tony was speaking with legal to get a search warrant."

Delilah nodded and let out a shaky sigh. "Leah and the baby? She kept... she kept rambling on how she was going to dispose of me, the imposter, and then go get _Lindsey's_ baby."

Gibbs tapped his cell phone against his thigh. "Leah is at NCIS right now, with an agent assigned to her as a protection detail if she leaves the building."

"You have to stop this woman soon, Gibbs. Her violence is going to escalate," Delilah stated.

"Yeah," Gibbs replied, "I'm very much aware of it."

Sighing, he pulled out his cell phone and sent a text to Tony— _got a call into Fornell, when he gets there with back-up, go pick up this psycho, ASAP._

* * *

The apartment complex that NCIS had traced Trisha too was small, slightly run down but not something that would be cited for building code violations. Tony had taken Gibbs' advice and waited for the FBI to send him some back-up.

Adjusting his bulletproof vest, Tony gave the silent signal to Bishop, raised his leg and kicked the door in, shouting, "Federal agents!" In a flash the agents had the apartment swarmed, startling the young couple on the sofa.

"What... what the hell is going on!" the skinny kid on the couch stammered. "Did we.. did we do something wrong?"

"Where's Trisha?" Tony asked, keeping his weapon drawn.

"Trisha? The lady we rent the apartment from?" the girl inquired, confused. "We haven't seen her since we rented the place."

Tony cursed and called the agents off. He holstered his weapon. "Where did she move too?"

The girl shrugged, still shaking. "We don't... we don't know. We send our rent checks to a P.O box."

"Fantastic," the senior field agent grumbled. This had been a giant waste of time and NCIS was going to have to pay for the door to be repaired for nothing. He fished out one of his business cards, "If you hear from her or see her, call me, please?" He apologized for scaring them, once again, and left the apartment, feeling his frustration level rising.

"How did we miss a second property?" Ellie asked once they were outside. "It wasn't in any background checks I came up with."

Tony licked his lips and wiped the sweat from his brow. Another hot day in D.C and another hot day they were chasing this woman. "Did anyone think to check for Twila McGregor?"

Ellie blanched for a second. "Oh my God, no!"

"Let's get our techies on that," Tony said pulling out his cell phone and dialing. "I'm done playing these games."


	9. Chapter 9

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** I think I have given S14 a fair enough shot and chance, and I'm done with it. So, you will probably not see anything that has to do with current canon in my stories, unless I have nothing else to watch on a Tuesday night at eight...

* * *

"I'm sorry," the elderly woman said, "Twila hasn't been around in weeks. Is everything okay?"

"We think she's connected to a kidnapping case," Tony replied, his nerves fraying even more. "If I give you my business card, would you call me if you see her?"

"Absolutely," the woman said, taking his card. "Should I tell her that you are looking for her?"

"No, that's not necessary," Tony said, with a tight smile. "Thank you for your time."

She nodded and closed the door. Tony, frustrated, dashed down the front steps of the rowhouse, and headed towards Ellie waiting in the nearby car.

Ellie frowned at him. This had been the third house on the block they had been too and no one had seen Trisha, or Twila as they knew her by. FBI agents were combing over her house, they had found all of the stolen items from the DiNozzo's nursery— _from Elizabeth's nursery,_ she reminded herself. Tony and Leah had finally picked a name out for their baby and they had decided on naming the baby after her grandmother.

Tony rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm beginning to think this is going to go exactly like the book. That crazy woman is going to get her baby and kill the woman who gave birth to her."

"Leah is with Nick. That's one major difference from real life and the book, Tony," Ellie pointed out.

"Is that supposed to comfort me? My wife is in labor; our daughter is coming and still in danger," Tony snapped.

Ellie watched as he started the car up and the pulled into traffic. So far, the day had not gone well. Trisha's brother had not spoken to her in months and now the neighbors that knew her as Twila had not seen her for weeks. "Leah's water hasn't broken yet—we have a few hours to find Trisha."

Tony shook his head. "There has to be something we're missing. Trisha isn't going to know that Leah is in labor, she isn't going to know what hospital my wife is going to give birth at. How the hell does she plan on getting her hands on my daughter?"

She wasn't sure; even Ducky wasn't sure how all the pieces were going to fall into place for Trisha. At this point the woman had to know that NCIS was on to her. "What if she's already at the hospital?"

He glanced at her. "How would she know what hospital to go too? Leah's going to George Washington."

"In the book the surrogate went to _Georgetown._ "

"You think Trisha is there? Waiting for us to arrive?"

"Yes, I think there is a distinct possibility."

"Get Nick on the phone. Tell him to give baby-sitting of Leah to McGee. We're going to Georgetown."

* * *

Nick noticed that Leah seemed even more uncomfortable than she had been twenty minutes ago. "Sure it's not time to go the hospital yet?"

Leah winced, breathing through a contraction. "No. Still twenty minutes apart, and my water hasn't broken yet. I think we have a little more time."

He rolled his eyes, slightly. "If we were at the hospital they could give you drugs or something to help with the pain."

She glanced at him sideways. "I'm fine, Agent Torres. In fact, I'm going to go use the bathroom and I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay, but I still think we should go to the hospital," Nick said as she left and his cell phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and noticed that it was Tony calling. "She still refuses to go to the hospital," he told the senior field agent when he answered.

" _I'm not surprised,"_ Tony replied with a slight chuckle. " _I told you that she was stubborn. She isn't going to be your assignment much longer—have McGee sit with her. Bishop and I think we know where Trisha has gone and we're going to need you."_

Nick ran his tongue over his lips, eager to get out the office. "McGee went to see Delilah. Gibbs should be back soon, want me to send him to help?"

Tony cursed. " _We don't have time to wait around for Gibbs to return. I don't know how long Trisha is going to be at this hospital. If that's where she's gone. I want her arrested before Leah leaves NCIS for the hospital. I'd prefer my daughter to enter this world NOT under a protection detail."_

"You know, we could release a BOLO to local hospitals—that way they're on alert that some crazy lady is looking for a baby," Nick said.

"Already done," McGee said, entering the room. "I did it an hour ago. Figured that was Trisha's next move."

"I thought you went to see Delilah," Nick interjected. "I just told Tony you weren't available."

"Is that Tony on the phone?"

"Yes."

" _Hey! I'm still here! This is eating up my minutes!"_ Tony snapped in Nick's ear. " _Does McWriter have something?"_

Nick put the phone down and placed it on speaker, gesturing with his eyebrows that it was McGee's turn to talk and no longer his.

McGee cleared his throat. "Yeah, I have something. Local police called about fifteen minutes ago—Trisha came in with a woman, obviously in labor, and very close in description to Leah. I panicked at first thinking it was Leah…but then I saw her walking around the building…"

Tony shouted, the room filling with his gruff voice, " _McGee!"_

"Sorry!" McGee sputtered. "Trisha walked into a hospital in Silver Springs with a woman she claimed was her sister and insisting that her sister be induced. The doctor sensed that something was off… when he tried to get Trisha to leave the room, she went nuts and attacked him. She's now holding the woman hostage."

" _Bishop and I are on it. Call the local police, tell them that this is NCIS case, bring them up to speed,"_ Tony said. " _Hope my negotiating skills are up to par."_

"I should meet you," McGee said, quickly.

" _No way, Probie,"_ Tony replied. " _You're supposed to be off this case."_

McGee sighed, frustrated. "Tony, I might be the only one she'll listen too. _I'm_ Agent McGregor!"

Nick pursed his lips together. "You know, McGee does have a point…"

" _Fine! Meet us at the hospital!"_

The room was filled with a dial tone, signaling that Tony had hung up. McGee looked at Nick, thankfully. "Thanks, Nick."

Nick shrugged. "No problem. If this ends my baby-sitting duty faster, then I'm all for it."

McGee smiled, faintly. "I'm sure Leah wants your baby-sitting duty to be over as well."

At that moment the door to the conference room opened again and Leah, looking a little frazzled stepped back in side. "Um… my water just broke."

"What!" Nick gasped, jumping to his feet. "I thought we had more time! You said we had more time!"

"Yeah… because my water _hadn't_ broken yet!" Leah snapped. "Time is a little limited now!"

Nick cursed and reached for the bag Leah's parents had dropped off at NCIS. "Ok, what hospital are we going too?"

Leah noticed the panicked look in Tim's eyes. "George Washington."

Gently, Nick took her by the arm and lead her out the conference room door. "Okay, we can make it there. Plenty of time!" _Now the question remained—would Tony make it in time for the birth of his daughter?_

* * *

Ducky was performing an autopsy for Agent Balboa when Tony called. "Anthony," he said, happily when he put his cell phone on speaker. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you today."

" _Yeah, well, I have some questions, Ducky,"_ Tony said over the speakerphone, " _Tim just called me. Silver Spring PD was called to the hospital. Apparently, Trisha abducted a pregnant woman in labor, killed the doctor when he tried to remove her from the room, and now is holding her hostage."_

"Oh dear," Ducky said. "Is the team there yet? An FBI hostage negotiator?"

" _I have call in,"_ Tony said, tensely. " _But Bishop and I talked to the nurse… she says that the woman's blood pressure is too high. Is this woman in danger? I mean more so than she is now with a crazy, psychopath with a knife?"_

Ducky clasped his hands tightly together. "High blood pressure is very dangerous to a mother. If it gets too high it could trigger seizures and without a doctor or a nurse in the room… this is a very dyer situation… for both the mother and the baby."

Tony sighed, " _Yeah, that's what we were afraid of."_ He didn't have to voice it, both of them were thinking it... the team had to get to there…and they had to get there fast.

* * *

"Special Agent DiNozzo, I'm Lieutenant Lopez. We've evacuated most of the floor, sir," an officer informed him when the team arrived. "The nurse is monitoring the young woman's condition from the nurses' station. The FBI negotiator is on the way, should be here in twenty minutes."

"Does the nurse think she can wait that long without medical attention?" Tony asked, strapping on a bulletproof vest over his polo shirt. "There's more than one life at stake here… not just that woman's."

Lopez shook his head. "The nurse thinks that if her blood pressure doesn't go down soon… she's going to end up seizing and without any trained medical personnel in there… she could suffer serious injuries."

Tony made the decision then that they couldn't wait for the FBI negotiator. Two lives were in danger. He just didn't know what he was going to do. There was no way that Trisha was going to listen to him… _Agent Tommy._

But she would listen to _McGregor…_ Tim stepped forward. "Tony… I… I have an idea," he said, grabbing the SFA by the arm. "Let me go talk to her."

He looked horrified at that thought. "No way, Tim!" Tony hissed. "That woman almost killed your wife and surrogate mother. I'm not about to let you into the room with her all by your lonesome."

Tim frowned. "She won't hurt me. She's doing this because she thinks we belong together—that your daughter is our baby—she took that woman thinking _she_ was Leah. Please, Tony. Trust me. I can do this. You and Bishop can cover me. Trisha will listen to me… she thinks she's doing this for _us._ If I can convince her to put that knife down… we can arrest her."

"You could also piss her off and she could stab you," Tony pointed out.

"Isn't that why you made us put these vests on?"

"Yeah."

"And why you'll be there as my backup?"

"Yeah… but…"

"Tony! No buts! This is our best shot! Unless you want to wait for that FBI negotiator."

He didn't have much of choice but to relent. Tony simply nodded his head, watched as Tim handed his weapon over to the officers and started down the hall ahead of Tony and Ellie. It was a terrible feeling, Tony concluded, watching his probie going towards that hospital room unarmed. But as he took up position in the hall just outside the room, Ellie on the other side, he caught a glimpse of Trisha's crazed eyes. Tony glanced at Tim once and gave him a silent nod.

Tim pushed the door open, holding his hands up and calling, "Twila… can I come in to talk?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Warnings:** Mild violence this chapter, nothing graphic

 **A/N** : Hello everyone! Baby Girl DiNozzo arrives this chapter! I hope you enjoy this chapter, please feel free to leave some feedback or PM me :) I try my best to respond to all of you personally. Until the next time, Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends :)

* * *

The air in the hospital was thick with tension as the young federal agent opened the door, startling both women. Tim entered, holding his hands up. "Twila… can I come in to talk?"

"You got my message… Sophie is coming," Trisha said, smiling at him. "I didn't think you would make it in time."

"I wouldn't miss our baby being born," Tim retorted, glancing gently at the frightened young woman. "Twila… we need a doctor. Why haven't you let another doctor in to check on Lindsay?"

"The doctor wanted me to leave! He wanted to take my baby from me! She wants to take Sophie from us!" Trisha cried, waving the knife at the new mother. "I won't let them!"

Tim shifted his gaze back towards the hostage. "Twila, no one is going to take the baby from you. Can I have that knife please? Before your hurt yourself."

Trisha was reluctant to give up the knife. It was her last line of defense, to keep someone from taking her baby from her. "You promise? They aren't going to take my baby?"

"Promise. They aren't going to take the baby."

She shakily handed the knife to Tim, who put it down on the sink and grabbed his cuffs. He twisted her arms behind her back and snarled, "Trisha McDonald, you're under arrest for the abduction and assault on Alice Malloy and Delilah McGee, the abduction of this young woman, Lindsay Bradley, and for murder. You have the right to remain silent…"

Trisha whipped herself about, screaming, and reached for the knife. "NO! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE MY BABY!"

Tim was thrown backwards into the counter, the knife sliding off and landing in the blood on the floor. Stars exploded behind his eyes as his head hit the cabinet and the room began to spin slightly… he saw Trisha going for the knife and fumbled to reach his weapon… only it wasn't there…

"Don't do it!" Tony shouted, aiming his SIG at Trisha's back. "Don't give me anymore reasons to put you out of your misery."

"Hands in the air!" Ellie yelled. "NOW!"

Tony scooped the pair of handcuffs off the floor when Trisha complied, sobbing. He tossed them towards Tim. "Want to do the honors, Probie?"

Tim rubbed the back of his head and grumbled. "Yeah," he grunted, twisting Trisha's hands behind her back. "We can now add the assault of a federal agent onto those charges," he snarled, snapping the cuffs shut. He grabbed her by the shoulder and led her out of the room, but of course she didn't go quietly, hurling insults as she went.

Her eyes were flared wide, lip curled as she was dragged away by Tim and two Silver Spring PD officers. 'You can't do this to me! I will get my baby!" Trisha hollered, her voice echoing down the hall.

"Nut job," Tony muttered under his breath as another doctor and nurses rushed into the room to check on Lindsay. He saw the gratefulness and relief in her eyes, and as she was moved to the delivery room, Tony realized that his expression must have mirrored that relief. Leah and his daughter were safe.

"I'll call Ducky," Ellie said, breaking through his thoughts. "I assume that Gibbs is going to want us to take this murder investigation since it was our suspect."

"Yeah, after he screams at me for not calling him first," Tony grumbled, holstering his weapon. "I'll go get the gear…"

Ellie nodded and took her phone out. "Hey. Nick's been texting me."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

She glared, slightly, at him. "Because he hasn't been able to get in touch with you!"

He was confused for a moment, until he remembered that Leah was in labor. "Damn it—her water broke."

"You need to go, Tony!"

"What about the crime scene?"

"Tim and I have it! GO!"

Tony set his jaw and glanced around the room. He felt torn. With Gibbs still away from Washington, Tony was in charge of the investigation— _but Leah… the baby…_ "Make sure Tim gets checked out by a doctor—he hit his head pretty good. And call Fornell, hand Trisha over the FBI. If Gibbs gets mad, let him, I'll deal with him later."

Ellie nodded and practically shoved him out of the room, sending him on the way to another hospital where his daughter was going to be born.

* * *

Nick glanced anxiously at his watch. Of course, Tony would be all the way on the other side of D.C when his wife's water broke—and of course it would be rush hour.

Leah had already informed him that if her husband didn't make it to the hospital in time—Nick was it. He was the one going into the delivery room with her. Nick wasn't sure they were close enough, yet, for him to be accompanying her into the room where she was going to be given birth.

"Did you try Tony again?" Leah asked, the nurse wiping some sweat from brow.

"I texted Ellie," Nick said. "She promised he's on his way."

"Well, where the hell is he?" she snapped, tears in her eyes.

"Silver Springs," he replied, wincing as she clamped down on his hand.

The nurse coached Leah through her breathing as the contraction passed, and then smiled. "We're getting closer to heading to the delivery room, I think. Let's check and see how far along you are."

Nick looked away as the nurse lifted the sheet covering Leah's lower body. When he was undercover he _never_ had to deal with stuff like this. Being a field agent was entirely different and he still wasn't sure he liked it.

Leah slapped his wrist, gently, bringing his attention about. "You don't have to look away! Your head isn't underneath the sheet!"

"I just don't think we're that close," Nick countered.

"If Tony doesn't get here soon, we're going to be close enough!" Leah yelped.

"We're not moving for maybe another forty-five minutes to an hour," the nurse assured them, "Your husband still has time to get here."

Nick wrangled his hand free. "I'll go try calling him again, find out where he is."

Leah protested, but Nick was gone. She blinked back her tears. _He's not going to make it; he's not going to be here to see our daughter born._

The nurse, Martha, must have sensed her distress. She handed Leah a cup of ice ships, and smiled at her, sweetly. "Don't worry, honey, he'll be here."

"And if he isn't?"

"He _will_ be here."

"Ah… he's stuck in traffic," Nick said, stepping back into the room. "Accident on the highway."

"See!" Leah cried, tears in her eyes. "He's going to miss it!"

Nick eyed Martha for a second. He didn't know how to calm Leah down—the nurse might think Tony was going to make in time for the baby to be born, but he was less optimistic.

Leah didn't have time to think too much about it for the moment as she experienced another contraction, grabbing a hold of both Nick and Martha's hands as she breathed through it.

For the next forty-five minutes they went through this routine—feeding Leah ice chips between each contraction—and eyes watching the door for any sign of Tony. The doctor waited as long as she possibly could before wheeling Leah to the delivery room and before he knew it, a gown was thrown at Nick.

"You're on Agent Torres," the doctor said.

"Really, I think Martha can handle this," Nick said, nervously.

"Nick! Don't you chicken out on me!" Leah snapped at him.

He inwardly groaned. There was no getting out of this. She was not letting go of him, holding his arm in a death like grip. _DiNozzo owes me big time._

Martha offered him a small smile. "Don't worry, Agent Torres, normally we ask the father to cut the umbilical cord, but we'll have a nurse do that."

Nick grimaced. "Gee, thanks."

She smiled at him again and pat him on the back, leading the way out of the room and wheeling Leah down towards the delivery room. They were halfway down the hall when the elevator dinged, and a voice shouted out, "WAIT!"

Leah lifted her head and let out a happy cry. Tony took Nick's place and leaned down to kiss his wife. "You made it!"

Tony rubbed her cheek. "Of course I made it! I wouldn't miss this!"

"Daddy," Martha said, addressing Tony, "put that gown on. We're going. I'm not letting this mommy deliver a baby in a wheel chair."

"Here, man, take mine," Nick said, quickly discarding his gown and throwing it at Tony. He watched as Tony threw the hospital gown on. "Good luck!"

"Thanks," Tony said with a grin as they rushed off to the delivery room. It was time to bring their little baby girl into the world.

* * *

As far as deliveries went, it hadn't been the most difficult, but it had been wrought with moments of worry. It was a harder labor on Leah than it had been with Jack, and Tony knew that the doctor and nurses were doing their best to keep their emotions out of their faces, every time Leah's blood pressure spiked, he could see the fear in their eyes. It made him sick to his stomach and he didn't feel that sickness go away until he heard his baby girl crying.

Leah seemed to relax as well once the wailing infant was placed on her stomach and the nurse started to clean her up. His wife's shoulders eased and she cried happy tears while he cut the umbilical cord. The baby was taken away to be cleaned up and examined, leaving her parents behind. Leah reached for Tony's hand and gave it a squeeze. "She's okay, right?"

Tony brushed a sweaty lock of his wife's hair out of her eyes. "She's perfect, sweetheart," he told her, planting a kiss on her cheek. "I counted ten little fingers and ten little toes."

"Can you see her? Did they take her far?" Leah asked, nervously.

"Yes, I can see her. They didn't take her far," Tony assured her.

Leah sighed, leaned back against her pillows, and closed her eyes, feeling exhaustion tugging at her. She must have dozed off for a few seconds because Tony's voice was pulling her awake and she opened her eyes to see her husband standing there, holding their little girl, wrapped up in a blanket with a little pink cap on her head.

Tony held their baby up so she could see her mother. "See, say hi to Mommy, princess."

"Hi baby," Leah cooed as Tony shifted the baby into her arms. "We had quite the exciting day didn't we?"

"She's healthy, no complications," the doctor said with a tender smile. "All six pounds, nine ounces of her."

"Do you have a name for her?" Martha asked, stroking the baby's cheek. "So we can write one on her card?"

Leah smiled at her baby and then looked up at Tony, grinning.

Tony knew she had changed her mind about the name.

She looked away, for a moment, before saying, "I know we discussed how nice it would be to name after your mother, but she just… she doesn't look like an Elizabeth to me."

He chuckled, softly and stroked her damp hair. "It's okay, go on, name her what you wanted to name her originally. My mom wouldn't mind—the name you liked is her favorite actress anyways."

"What's her name?" Martha asked again.

"Grace," Leah said, smiling at her daughter. "Her name is Grace Caitlin DiNozzo."


	11. Chapter 11

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** Second to last chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Gibbs stepped into the interrogation room at the FBI, coffee in hand, and smiled, easily at Tobias Fornell. "Mind if I join you?"

Fornell glanced up and smiled at him. "Heard you were a _grandpa_ again. Surprised you're not at the hospital to meet that sweet little girl."

He leaned against the wall and stared at Trisha McDonald, the woman responsible for nearly taking that sweet baby girl away from them. Gibbs sipped his coffee. "I'll go visit once I make sure this woman goes away for a long, long time."

"You won't believe it—she waved her rights," the FBI agent informed him.

"Really? You don't want a lawyer, Mrs. McDonald?" Gibbs inquired.

Trisha snarled at him. "That's not my name."

Gibbs took another sip of coffee. "Oh, that's right. Mrs. _McGregor,_ you didn't want a lawyer?"

"I don't need one," Trisha snapped.

"You don't?" Fornell countered. "You murdered a man, kidnapped three women, not to mention you were stalking Agent Gibbs entire team and their families."

Trisha's eyes grew dark with rage. "They were keeping my baby from me!"

Gibbs' jaw clenched. "Neither of those babies were yours."

"Yes! She was! She was my Sophie!"

"One was a boy—the other, the girl, her name is Grace."

She started to chant, _no no no,_ repeatedly, to block out his words.

He kept talking. "Her name is Grace, and she is happy, healthy, and with her _rightful_ parents."

Trisha lept to her feet. "NO! She's my baby! When my husband gets here and gets me out of this I'm going to get her! Take her away from that filthy, rotten, Tommy and his whore! They don't deserve her!"

Gibbs glanced at Fornell, and with a faint smile on his lips, he pushed off the wall and headed for the door. "You're right, Tobias, I do have a new granddaughter to go meet. This case is all yours." Outside the room, listening to Trisha screaming at him, Gibbs finished his coffee and tossed it in the trash. It was time to go meet Grace.

* * *

After enduring hours of visits from friends and family, Leah was feeling antsy and ready to leave the hospital; doctors were confident that mother and baby would be able to go home the following day. Which was good because her room was beginning to get a bit over crowded with flowers and balloons and gifts. However, while everyone else had been down to meet baby Grace, the two most important people of all, Tali and Jack, had not made an appearance yet.

Her parents had taken turns coming to see her and Grace, Jack had been in a bit of a bad mood when he woke up and found his mother gone the morning that Leah had gone into labor, but, now that both Katherine and John had seen and met his little sister, the toddler was chomping at the bit. Tali had been quite patient, but she was worried that Leah was sick and wouldn't be coming home from the hospital.

So, after Grace's morning feeding, Tony went to pick the two kids up at the hotel and bring them to see their mother and newborn baby sister.

"Mama!" Jack greeted when Tony brought him into the room for his visit. He practically leaped into his mother's arms, despite his father's protests to be gentle.

"Hi Mama," Tali whispered, climbing onto the bed with Leah, a bit more cautiously than her brother had.

"Where our baby?" Jack questioned, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"She's getting cleaned up to meet you," Leah said with a breathy laugh. She ruffled her son's hair. "Now, listen to me, Jack… you need to be gentle with her."

Jack settled in next to Leah, eagerly waiting the moment he got to meet his baby sister. He had gabbed all the way to the hospital with Tony about how he was going to play games with her and show her all his toys once she got home. Tony didn't have the heart to tell him that Grace would not be a playmate for a while.

Tali had been excited to see Grace, but she had been anxious as well. She barely spoke on the drive over to the hospital, probably because her brother wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise, and the only question she had asked had been if the baby was okay. Tony assured her that both Leah and Grace were fine, just resting up in the hospital before they came home. She snuggled against Leah now, her curly hair wild thanks to the humidity.

Martha came into the room then, holding a sleeping Grace. "Here she is, ready to meet her big sister and brother," she said, slipping the baby into Leah's arms. Grace's little eyes opened and she gazed at her mother, sleepily.

Leah shifted her so she could see her siblings. "Look, Grace… here's your big brother… Jack. He used to give you a kiss every night when you were in my tummy. And your big sister, Tali, she liked to rub my belly and talk to you all the time."

Tony watched, lovingly, as Jack pulled himself up onto his knees and planted a sweet little kiss on his little sister's head. Tali planted soft kisses on the top of Grace's downy head and gently rested her chin on Leah's arm, watching the infant.

Jack began to talk non-stop to the baby, rubbing her little hands and patting her head gently, every once and a while stopping to give her a kiss. And it hit him then… his family was complete.

"Dada," Jack called to him, waving his little hand. "Come see my baby!"

"She's pretty special, huh, buddy?" Tony asked, moving over towards the bed and sitting on the edge.

"I love you, baby," Jack cooed, kissing her little cheek.

"I love you, too, Grace," Tali whispered to her, kissing the baby's other cheek.

He reached out and wiped the tear that fell from Leah's eye. Tony smiled at her, gently. "You okay?"

She nodded and bit down on her lip. "Better than okay."

Tony kissed away the other tears, pulled Tali tightly to him and ruffled Jack's hair. He had never felt so much love in his heart than he did in that moment. He had everything he had been searching for his whole life and he wasn't sure he could be any happier.

* * *

Three weeks later, Washington found themselves drenched with spring rains, and Tim found himself heading towards the doctor's office with Delilah for Alice's latest check-up. Things at the office had slowed down, with Tony only working part-time to stay home and help Leah with the baby. No one was saying anything but they were glad for the peace and quiet—it meant they could focus on more pleasant things, like their families.

As far as he knew the FBI had dealt with Trisha, looking for a place that they could lock her up so she couldn't hurt anyone again as well as getting the obvious psychiatric treatment that she needed. Tim was happy to never take the pen to paper again and write another book. Some things were just better off being left in the past.

"Mr. and Mrs. McGee," Alice Malloy greeted them, happily and brightly when they entered her examination room. Her hands were resting on her growing baby bump. "I think today is the day we find out what you're having!"

Delilah wheeled her chair close to the ultra sound screen. It had been wonderful to hear her baby's heartbeat the first time a few weeks ago, now, she was going to get to see her baby for the first time.

Tim stood awkwardly in the corner. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to act in this situation. Tony and Jimmy had talked about going with their wives, holding their hands and having a grand time… but this was different. Someone else was carrying his child to keep his wife safe. "Tony thinks it's a boy."

"And why is that?" Delilah asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Don't know, to be honest, but he does have a fifty-fifty shot," Tim replied with a shrug.

"Well, either way, if our baby is healthy, I'm happy," Delilah said, taking Alice's hand.

Tim listened to the two women talking about morning sickness and prenatal vitamins and he tuned it out, waiting for the doctor. He glanced at his watch and noted the time. He and Delilah were going to be heading to Tony's for a cookout tomorrow and he was hoping to have some news to tell his team when they arrived. He was busy reading some of the informational posters when the doctor came in and began the procedure.

Delilah slapped his arm a couple of times to get his attention and Tim came back to reality. It was the first time he had heard the baby's heartbeat. _Tony's right… it is amazing._

"Have we discussed the possibility of a multiple birth?" the doctor questioned.

"Multiple?" Tim repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Well, to ensure that Alice got pregnant, they implanted multiple embryos. Alice is carrying twins."

"Are you… are you sure?"

The doctor smiled and nodded, pointing towards the ultra sound screen. She showed the couple the two babies. "Definitely twins. Congratulations, you're having a boy and a girl. Do you want printouts of the ultrasound?"

Delilah overcame her shock faster than Tim. "Yes. That would be lovely."

Tim stood there, dumbfounded. "Twins?" He was barely ready for one baby… now… twins? He gulped and looked at Delilah, who was handling this better than he was. She looked happy. Well, they had been through so much together… they could handle twins. Or at least… he prayed and hoped they could handle twins because there was little they could do about it now.

* * *

"Abba," Tali said while Tony tucked her in that night, "Did you talk to me when I was in Mama's belly?"

"Of course I did," Tony lied, not having the heart to tell her the truth.

Tali smiled at this thought and pulled her blanket up to her chin. "I think Grace looks like Mama. How come I don't look like Mama, Abba?"

Tony stared at his daughter for a moment. He was tired and could tell that the three-year-old was trying to have an important conversation with him, but he didn't understand her question. She looked a lot like her mother. "What are you talking about, Tali? You look just like your mother."

She shook her head. "No. I don't have blonde hair like Mama."

 _Oh. Mama… not Ima,_ he said to himself. They had done their best to explain to Tali that she had a different mother than Jack, that even though they were brother and sister, Tali had not been carried in Leah's belly. It was obvious that she was still confused by this and probably would be for a long time. "Talia, Mama adopted you, that means she didn't carry you in her belly; that's why you don't look like her."

Little lips pursed together, and then Tali shrugged. "Oh, okay."

 _That's it!_ Tony thought, with mild exasperation. _It was that easy?_

"Abba, will the new baby call you _daddy?_ "

"When she starts to talk, yes, she probably will."

"Can I call you daddy?"

"You can call me whatever you want, baby."

"No one at school calls their daddy _abba._ "

Tony stroked her hair. "Does this bother you, Tali?"

Tali shook her head again. "No. Just an observation."

 _What three-year-old says observation?_ Tony thought as he cracked a small smile. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams, baby. Tomorrow's a big day!"

Her hazel eyes drooped shut. "Abba, will you give Grace a kiss for me?"

"Yes," Tony replied, just before he shut the light off.

"Abba?"

"Yes, Tali?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Tali was asleep before Tony made it to the end of the hall. He peeked into Jack's room, and then peeked into the nursery—both the toddler and baby were sound asleep. _Three kids—did you ever picture your life with three kids?_ Tony asked himself as he gave Grace the kiss from Tali and then headed upstairs to the new master bedroom.

Leah was laying out her jogging clothes when he opened the door. "I think Grace and I are going to go for a run tomorrow morning. Do you mind taking Tali and Jack to the store when you pick up the steaks?"

Tony shook his head, scratched Rick Blaine behind the ears, and kissed Leah's cheek. "Just promise me you won't push yourself too hard."

"Promise, I won't," she said with a smile, then she noticed him looking at her, seriously. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything is perfect. Last summer, it didn't feel like it could be perfect ever again," he confessed. "It feels like another lifetime."

"It was another lifetime," Leah told him.

"One that I never want to repeat," Tony said, pulling her into his arms. "And I promise, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that it never does repeat."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay. I haven't been feeling the desire to work on this verse as there doesn't seem to be any interest in this verse anymore. As of right now I have no new Tony/Leah verses/stories planned or any planned for the Unconditionally verse. I do hope you enjoy this last chapter if you have been reading. It is mostly fluff and combines the last chapter in the original "Hanging By Words" and the one-sot "Proud".

* * *

Instead of going for a run, Leah had taken all three kids down to the park for the morning while Tony went to the grocery store to pick up what they needed for the cookout. After they got home, it wasn't long before Gibbs came knocking on their door.

"Grampa, come see my baby," Jack greeted the team leader, taking his hand and guiding him down the hall into the kitchen.

Leah was making a salad and watched as Jack led Gibbs to where Grace was sleeping in her bouncy seat on the floor at her mother's feet; Tali was laying on her stomach watching the infant. It was apparent to Gibbs that both older DiNozzo children were in love with the newborn. Jack smiled, proudly at Gibbs. "See! Here my baby! Shhh, Grampa, she sleeping."

Gibbs chuckled and gave the toddler's hand a little squeeze. He promised Jack that he wouldn't wake Grace and the little boy ran off to go play. Gibbs reached down and ran a finger along the infant's soft cheek. Tony was right—she looked just like Leah. One little eye opened to gaze at him and he smiled at her. "Sorry, I did promise your brother that I wasn't going to wake you up."

"Don't worry," Leah said, going back to chopping vegetables. "He says that to everyone because we have to keep reminding him to keep quiet while she's sleeping."

"Being two and having a baby sister in the house isn't easy," Gibbs surmised with a grin. "How's he handling it?"

"Completely smitten with her," Leah said, laughing. "For now anyways. I bet that changes once she's older."

Gibbs eased the infant out of her bouncy seat, eased her into his arms, and gently sat down at the kitchen island. It hurt his back but he didn't care. He had been waiting to hold this baby girl for a long time and he was going to take whatever opportunity he could get to hold her. Jack was not the only in this little baby's life that was _completely smitten_ with her. As he was thinking this thought, Tony came into the kitchen, carrying a bag of ice for the cooler, and noticed that his daughter was awake. The younger man threw a smile at his baby girl and cooed, "Hello, princess, did you enjoy your nap?"

Leah rolled her eyes and with her foot she slid the cooler towards her husband. "Can you tear yourself away from your daughter for a moment and fill this?"

Tony continued to smile at his baby girl, even as he opened the top of the cooler and poured the bags of ice in and then filled it with cans of soda. Gibbs chuckled and bounced the baby a little. _Yeah, Jack isn't the only man in the house that is smitten._

"Hey," Abby called, entering the kitchen, her boyfriend Burt, and Ellie behind her, "Did anyone just get the text message from Tim?"

"No. What did it say?" Tony asked.

"He said that they had _big_ news."

"Big?"

"Yes. We all know about the baby so… what could be the big news?"

"Twins."

The group whirled around to see Tim standing there, eyes wide and slightly shaken. "We're having twins," he repeated with a shake of his head. Immediately everyone was congratulating them and hugging them, and startling little Grace to the point that she let out several shrill cries from Gibbs arms.

Jack, alerted to the scene by the cheers, came rushing in and put his finger to his mouth and with a stomp of his foot, shushed the crowd. "Shhh! My baby is sleeping!" Everyone laughed, softly, at him but quieted down.

Abby picked him and peppered him with sweet kisses, even as he protested, slightly. "Sorry, little man, we were excited about Uncle Tim and Aunt Delilah's babies."

"Aunnie have baby in her belly too?" Jack asked, looking at Delilah.

"No, the babies are in someone else's belly," Delilah told him.

"Aunt Delilah, are you going to adopt them, like Mama adopted me?" Tali asked, eyes looking at the young woman, innocently.

"Well, no, the babies are mine and Uncle Tim's babies," Delilah said, anxiously.

"Ok, well, now that we've completely confused them," Tony said, ruffling Tali and Jack's hair, "Let's get these steaks on the grill and start celebrating."

* * *

Tony grabbed the six-pack of beer from the front seat of his car and climbed out of the SUV, slamming the door shut behind him. It wasn't the first time he was summoned to this boss' house, and it would probably not be the last… but something wasn't settling right in Tony's stomach this time.

It had been quiet around NCIS since word had come down that Trisha McDonald had committed suicide in FBI custody. Tim felt partially responsible for it.

Vance had given them a few days off after their last case, Tony had spent those days helping his wife entertain two children and care for a newborn. When he returned to work, he was surprised that Gibbs had not shown up, but he was soon told that Gibbs had taken some time off. Which, was a bit startling to the senior field agent. Gibbs never took time off unless he was forced.

Pushing the front door of the house open, Tony stepped inside, smelling the steaks cooking. His mouth watered. Their house was low on food. Neither of them had the time to go food shopping since the cookout and he'd eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. In short, he was starving.

"Hey boss!" he called, making his presence known. "Brought the beer."

"I'm right here in the living room, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, softly from his sofa.

"Oh," Tony said, looking sheepishly around the room. "Sorry." He dropped the beer onto the coffee table. "So, um… you wanted to see me."

Gibbs reached for two beers and popped them open. "Yeah. Have a seat, Tony."

Tony reluctantly sat down. Why did it feel like he had just been summoned to the Headmaster's office? "Does this have something to do with my job filling in for you? I mean… it's been a crazy couple of weeks with you out and Vance isn't saying much about when you'll be back…"

"Won't be back."

"What? What do you mean you won't be back?"

Gibbs handed his SFA a beer and gave him a thin smile. "It's time, Tony. This job is too hard on my old knees. Physically, Tony… I can't keep up with the demands. I'm retiring… well, semi-retiring… I've offered to teach some classes at FLET-C, consult on cases when needed..."

Tony blinked, feeling his heart leap in his throat. He knew that this day would come but…damn… he didn't think it would hurt so much. "Boss… what about the team?"

"Yours now, DiNozzo. Vance is going to make it permanent once my papers are signed and the deal is sealed."

"My… my team? He's going to give me the MCRT?"

"Yeah. You sound surprised."

He sighed and took a sip of his beer. Tony gazed around the living room, at the photographs that had been provided the last few years—Tony's wedding day, McGee's… Abby with Burt at the park… photographs of Jack buzzing around in his walker… Tali at the beach… it looked like the living room of a man that was ready to retire, to spend his days wood working and playing with his grandkids. "Boss… you weren't there the last time… nothing I did was right… it felt all wrong…"

Gibbs reached out and grasped Tony's shoulder. "And I wasn't very clear that I believed in you, Tony, back then. I'm being clear now, and I do believe in you. When I handed my retirement papers in to Vance I told them that there was one condition… you got the team. There is no one I trust more with my team than you, Anthony."

Tony clutched the beer bottle. "Come on, boss… what are you really pulling here? Is this some kind of confidence boaster?"

"Vance thinks you're ready."

"Vance? Leon Vance?"

"Uh-huh. Thinks you've done a great job since I've been away; did a great job when I got shot a couple years back. You caught Trisha, you've stepped in naturally in my absence."

"Why me, boss? There are lots of other agents that would love this job…"

Gibbs shook his head. God, even after all these years, Tony was still terribly insecure. "Because you're a great agent, Tony. Ellie and Tim both respect you, and will follow you. And Tim is ready to be a SFA… your SFA."

Tony had to admit that Tim had grown over the years, and he would also admit that Tim was ready to take on the responsibly as a senior field agent. Still… was he ready to lead? The last time had been such a disaster… it was one of the reasons he had turned down Rota.

"It's time, Tony," Gibbs said with a smile, "It's time for you to leave the nest and spread your wings."

Tony frowned. "Feels more like you're pushing me out, boss."

Gibbs looked at him honestly. "If I didn't push you, you'd never leave. Listen, there isn't any other agent at NCIS that deserves this promotion more than you. Tony, you've been the most loyal to me since we met… even when I didn't deserve that loyalty. You could have left years ago, started a new life but you chose to stay. Don't you think that kind of loyalty should be rewarded?"

He shrugged his shoulders. Tony had always been loyal, to a fault at times, and never had it been rewarded. Well, maybe except in his relationship with Leah… "To be honest… it kind of scares me, boss. What if I'm not good enough? What if I can't help people like you can?"

"BS Tony and you know it," Gibbs said, sternly. "You once rushed into a burning building to save a kid… as far as I know… I wasn't around for that."

"But I didn't save the little girl," Tony pointed.

"You can't save them all."

"And that's the part that sucks."

Gibbs pat the younger man on the shoulder. "Focus on the ones you can save, Tony. If you do that, you'll do me proud." He reached into his pocket and found his badge, and handed it to Tony. "It's your team now, son."

Tony looked at the badge in his hand. This time he didn't feel the sting of betrayal, or the fear that he was going to fail... he felt determined, honored... the way it should have felt all those years ago. Running his fingers over the badge, Tony smiled, thinly, "Promise, boss. I'm gonna make you proud."

"Know you will, DiNozzo. After all these years, despite what you think, you haven't let me down yet," Gibbs said getting to his feet. "Now, steaks should be done, let's eat."

"Hey, boss," Tony said watching as the older man put their steak onto a plate and cut it in half. "We'll still have cowboy steak right? Leah and the kids are great... but well, she hates it when I cook steak over the fire now that Jack is all over the place... sucks in the winter when I have to use the outdoor fire pit in the snow..."

Gibbs laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah... we can still have cowboy steak. Wouldn't miss these chats for the world, Tony."


End file.
